Joe Stevenson Ready to Fight B.J. Penn at UFC 80

Joe Stevenson has been training hard to fight B.J. Penn. (MMAweekly.com Photo)

Check the UFC betting odds in the Bodog Sportsbook and it's very clear that B.J. Penn (11-4-1) is the favorite to win the lightweight title on Saturday, Jan. 19 at UFC 80: Rapid Fire.

But his opponent, Joe Stevenson (29-6-0) is ready to prove everyone wrong.

"I want to show people that I’m not the underdog,” he tells MMAweekly.com.

To prepare for the battle, Stevenson has been training hard in Big Bear, Calif. with some of the best fighters in the sport, including Gray Maynard, Sam Stout, Tyson Griffin and grappling champion Marcelo Garcia.

"This is my ninth week in Big Bear, so I’ve done a lot of things different," Stevenson says. "Normally, I make my own meals. I’m getting spoiled this time. I have my own doctor, Dr. John Batrick, who works on professional athletes, does Olympians, NFL stars, and he came out here to hang out and fix me up and work on me and at the same time he brought his buddy up that cooks for Bon Jovi. I’m getting stuff made from one of the best chefs out there.”

With no distractions, Stevenson has been able to focus entirely on his training, and says he's ready to win the UFC belt. "I’m prepared to go 5 rounds, 150 percent," he explains. "You can expect a barn burner and it’s going to be my hand raised at the end and his head down."

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