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Darrill Schoonover, a cast member of the current season of The Ultimate Fighter, has been called back to active military duty in the U.S. Army, and will have to report shortly after his Dec. 5 fight on the TUF finale.

Schoonover, who previously served four years in the Army, believes he may be called to serve in Afghanistan, according to an interview he conducted with Shambala Sports Radio.

"At first I was kind of pissed," he said. "I was like, 'I've already served my country for four years and been out for almost two years.' I'm getting my fighting started and getting the ball rolling on that. I was kind of mad, but the very next day, I just accepted it. I'll do what I gotta do, and then I'll come back and work on my fighting."

PHILADELPHIA -- From the moment he stepped in the octagon for the first time, BJ Penn was a known commodity, so talented he earned a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt in three years, so gifted that he'd won the equivalent of the jiu-jitsu world championship just weeks after his black belt ceremony despite competing against lifelong devotees. His reputation was such in the BJJ world that mixed martial arts fans had debated, analyzed and speculated about this wunderkind before he'd ever had a single MMA match. And when he finally debuted, it was not on a regional show like most, but in the UFC.

Contrast that with his UFC 101 opponent Kenny Florian. He entered the world of MMA with no fanfare, was thought to be a major underdog on his season of The Ultimate Fighter, and even after making it to the finals, he was never expected to amount to much. Fighting at 185 pounds, the former collegiate soccer player seemed outsized, outclassed and out of his element.

Yet somehow, their paths are converging Saturday night at the Wachovia Center. Such is the beauty of sports. Such is the beauty of MMA.