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BJ Penn 'guarantees' he's fighting at UFC 196; Dennis Siver leading the pack

Published Feb. 3, 2016 7:30 p.m. ET

Damon Martin

It looks like BJ Penn's return to the Octagon is still planned for UFC 196 on March 5, but the Hall of Famer is still awaiting word on a potential opponent.

Penn told "UFC Tonight" on Wednesday that “guarantees” he's fighting on that date, but from the sound of things his first opponent back will not be Nik Lentz.

Penn and Lentz have engaged in a war of words over the last several weeks ever since the Hawaiian announced his intention to return to the UFC after retiring in 2014 following a loss to Frankie Edgar.

While nothing is set in stone, the leading candidate to land the fight with Penn right now is featherweight veteran Dennis Siver.

Siver has been out of action since last June, when he fell to Tatsuya Kawajiri by decision, and that came one fight after he was knocked out by current featherweight champion Conor McGregor.

Whether the opponent ends up being Siver or not remains to be seen, but Penn is training to fight on March 5 while he awaits word from the UFC on who he'll actually face.

Penn has relocated to New Mexico for the past few weeks where he's been training under the guidance of head coach Greg Jackson and his team in Albuquerque as he prepares for his comeback fight.

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