[autotag]B.J. Penn[/autotag] has been arrested again.
Penn, a UFC Hall of Famer, was arrested and released Sunday in Honoka’a, Hawaii on suspicion of DUI following a reckless driving complaint, Hawaii Police Department spokesperson Denise Laitinen confirmed to MMA Junkie on Monday.
“B.J. Penn was arrested on (Jan. 23, 2021) in Honoka’a for driving under the influence,” Laitinen said in a written statement. “He has been released pending investigation.”
MMA Fighting first reported Penn’s arrest after a video of an angry, handcuffed Penn being helped into a vehicle by police officers appeared on MMA Reddit. In the video, Penn is screaming expletives in the direction of the person filming.
Penn, 42, has had several run-ins with the law in recent years – including an incident related to suspicion of DUI last February. Penn was investigated on suspicion of DUI following a single-car motor vehicle crash and subsequent blood-alcohol test in his hometown of Hilo.
Penn, a former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion, has not competed in the UFC since May 2019. He was booked to fight rival Nik Lentz in late 2019, but the fight never happened.
Penn was released from the UFC after videos of him partaking in a brawl outside a bar surfaced online. One video shows Penn being dropped by a punch from his combatant, with another showing the Hawaiian MMA legend pummeling the individual on the ground.
Relive the memorable first meeting between B.J. Penn and Matt Hughes at UFC 46 as “The Prodigy” captured the UFC welterweight title.
[autotag]B.J. Penn[/autotag] and [autotag]Matt Hughes[/autotag] faced off for the first time in 2004 in what would be the start of a memorable rivalry.
Penn faced five-time defending welterweight champion Hughes at UFC 46 as he made his 170-pound debut, but the Hawaiian looked instantly at home as he dominated the reigning champion on the mat to secure a memorable victory.
Penn got Hughes on his back early, and “The Prodigy” never let him off the hook. He controlled him in top position for the majority of the round before eventually transitioning to his back with under a minute left and securing the rear-naked choke that forced the tap.
At the time it was a huge upset win for Penn, and it went on to set up a memorable trilogy between the pair. Hughes won the second fight two years later, finishing Penn in the third round, but it was Penn who got the last laugh, knocking Hughes out in just 21 seconds in their final meeting in 2010.
That was Penn’s last victory in the octagon, and he has recently hinted at the possibility of officially calling time on his career.
Check out Penn’s win over Hughes in the video above.
Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here!
On Episode No. 3,045 of the podcast, the guys continue quarantine life with another show from home in Las Vegas, covering the latest MMA news and notes.
THE RUNDOWN
UFC Hall of Famer [autotag]B.J. Penn[/autotag] said people have been telling him to fight again but also a lot of folks telling him not to. If he did step into the cage again, where would it be? And should he?
One thing about the coronavirus pandemic is the effect it will have on regional promotions. They rely so much on ticket sales, how will they survive without fans even when MMA returns?
Now that UFC strawweight champion [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] is back in China six weeks after her last fight, does that make her a lock for “Fight Island”?
Could [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] be fighting [autotag]Frankie Edgar[/autotag] next? Is that a mistake by Sterling, and what does it say about the UFC’s attitude toward “Funk Master”?
[autotag]Demian Maia[/autotag]’s final fight likely won’t be in Brazil, and it’s looking like [autotag]Diego Sanchez[/autotag] could be the front runner. If it happens, good choice?
Stream or download this and all episodes of MMA Junkie Radio over at OmnyStudio, or check it out above. You can also catch it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and more. A new episode of the podcast is released every Monday and Thursday.
Former UFC champ B.J. Penn is searching for his next step: “If I could get anything else going in life than a fist fight, it would be nice.”
Could the curtain finally be closing on [autotag]B.J. Penn[/autotag]’s legendary career? It appears the UFC Hall of Famer is coming to the realization that’s a strong likelihood.
Although Penn (16-14-2 MMA, 12-13-2 UFC) has etched out a legacy that includes becoming the first in UFC history to win titles in two weight classes, the past decade has been an ugly downturn for the former welterweight and lightweight champion.
In the cage, Penn has only struggled. He hasn’t won since a quick knockout of Matt Hughes at UFC 123 in November 2010, and his current seven-fight UFC losing skid is the longest in the promotion’s history. Matters haven’t been better outside of the cage, either, with Penn experiencing a bevy of legal issues, some of which were allegedly violent in nature.
At 41, Penn, who has retired twice before, said the idea of preparing for a high-level fight is a task he’s not currently – and may never again be – ready for.
“It takes a lot of work,” Penn said on a recent Instagram Live chat with longtime coach Jason Parillo. “It takes too much. Too much (expletive) work. At this age, it just takes too much (expletive) work. You never know what’s going to happen, but it takes so much work.”
Penn said that he’s asked daily what his fighting future holds, and it’s always mixed feedback.
“There’s so much people telling me to fight again,” Penn said. “Other people telling me don’t fight again. It’s a lot to take in.”
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If Penn were to compete again, it wouldn’t be under the UFC banner. Penn’s most recent incident in February saw him hospitalized after flipping his vehicle in a possible DUI. That came roughly five months after UFC president Dana White finally released Penn from the organization shortly after he was caught on video fighting in the streets of Hawaii.
Following his previous retirements, Penn said he was lured back to the sport because it was one of the few things in life that made him feel fulfilled and happy. It gave him something to work toward, even if he wasn’t getting the winning results.
It appears some of that feeling still remains, because Penn admitted he’s still having a tough time finding his next step after fighting.
“If I can get anything else going it would be nice,” Penn said. “If I could get anything else going in life than just a fist fight, it would be nice. But it’s so fun and I love the process and all those things about it. Then you get in the gym and start doing good with active fighters and next thing you know you’re trying to fight and biting off more than you can chew. You might be, you might not be. But the process itself it’s a lot to just do a camp or whatever.”
Penn most recently competed at UFC 237 in May when he suffered a unanimous decision loss to Clay Guida. There’s a good chance that ends up the last fight of Penn’s career, and if that’s the case, he appears to be content.
Despite still having a part of him that loves to throw fists at another man’s face, Penn has seemingly accepted his position after fighting professionally for more than 19 years.
“I guess when you have something to prove that’s when you can fight the best,” Penn said. “It’s like, ‘Hey man, you already proved yourself.’ It’s not about proving myself, I just really like doing this. But you can’t go out and keep getting hurt. That just don’t make sense to anybody.”
Hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” react to the latest MMA news and notes, and look ahead to UFC on ESPN+ 25 this weekend.
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Thursday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here!
On Episode No. 3,026 of the podcast, the guys react to the latest MMA news and notes, as well as look ahead to UFC on ESPN+ 25 this weekend in Rio Rancho, N.M.
THE RUNDOWN
[autotag]Nate Diaz[/autotag] got caught up in a bizarre news story when the Miami Herald falsely reported that he was arrested in Miami, and now he’s considering legal action for defamation of his name, according to his publicist. Would suing the newspaper be a bad look for Diaz given his “BMF” persona?
UFC Hall of Famer [autotag]B.J. Penn[/autotag] unfortunately was back in the news for wrong reasons after getting into a car accident, which has led Hawaii police to investigate him for a possible DUI. It’s the latest in a string of bad things that have happened with Penn. Is this finally the wake-up call?
UFC heavyweight [autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag] revealed that he has a “life or death” medical condition, though he wouldn’t specify what it is. Will he reconsider his fighting career moving forward?
Bellator has moved all-in on the champ-champ narrative after booking welterweight champion [autotag]Douglas Lima[/autotag] against [autotag]Gegard Mousasi[/autotag] for the now vacant middleweight title. That fight joins a May card that also includes champ-champ [autotag]Ryan Bader[/autotag] defending his light heavyweight title in San Jose. Is this the right move for the promotion?
ONE Championship announced that it will soon launch its ONE Infinity Series. Will this make much of a difference for the promotion in the U.S.?
Ex-UFC fighter [autotag]Justin Willis[/autotag] is headed to PFL. Is the the favorite at heavyweight for the 2020 season?
The UFC recently cut a lot of fighters, including Juan Adams, Brad Katona and Ben Saunders. We react.
The stakes would seem to be high at UFC on ESPN+ 25, where [autotag]Corey Anderson[/autotag] and [autotag]Jan Blachowicz[/autotag] face off in a pivotal light heavyweight headliner. Will the winner secure a title shot over a potential rematch for Dominick Reyes against Jon Jones?
Matt McGovern, the founder of World Fighting Championships, joined the show to talk about his promotion and what’s on tap for 2020, which could include up to 30 shows.
Stream or download this and all episodes of MMA Junkie Radio over at OmnyStudio, or check it out above. You can also catch it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and more. A new episode of the podcast is released every Monday and Thursday.
Police launched the investigation after receiving B.J. Penn’s blood test results from the hospital.
[autotag]B.J. Penn[/autotag] was involved in a single-car accident last weekend in his hometown of Hilo, Hawaii, leading police to investigate the UFC Hall of Famer for a possible DUI violation.
According to Big Island Now, Penn was involved in the accident at approximately 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 7. Hawaii Police Department Cpt. Ken Quiocho told the website that Penn lost control while driving a black pickup truck and flipped the vehicle in front of a shopping mall. Penn, who was the only occupant in the vehicle, was transported by ambulance to Hilo Medical Center (HMC). His condition was unknown as of late Tuesday night.
Quiocho told Big Island now that police believe speed was “certainly a factor in the crash.” The investigation into a possible DUI was launched after HMC drew blood from Penn upon his admittance to the hospital – standard practice for victims of car accidents. HMC shared the results with police, which prompted the investigation, Quiocho said. He did not disclose Penn’s blood alcohol level since the investigation is ongoing.
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This incident comes after a 2019 in which Penn dealt with multiple serious transgressions. Last April, Penn was issued a restraining order by the mother of his children, who alleged years of domestic violence and sexual abuse. Penn also threatened a farmer with a machete, according to a police report.
Last August, Penn was involved in a street caught on video outside a bar in Hilo. The footage showed Penn getting dropped after being punched by a man.
Penn, 41, fought his final UFC fight last May at UFC 237. He dropped a unanimous decision to Clay Guida for his seventh consecutive loss, which set a new UFC record. The UFC still booked Penn after that to fight Nik Lentz but later released him after the street fight video surfaced.
Penn was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2015.
A full recap of 2019’s most significant footnotes and milestones from the events, the fights and individual performances.
Now that the year has come to a close, and with a major assist from UFC research analyst and live statistics producers Michael Carroll, here are some of 2019’s most significant milestones from the events, the fights and individual performances.
* * * *
EVENTS
Octagon girls at UFC 238
The UFC held 42 events in 39 different cities across 15 countries and five continents.
Within those events, there were 516 fights across 13 different weight classes (including catchweight bouts).
Those 516 fights combined for a total cage time of 94:59:04.
The longest event of the year was “UFC on ESPN+ 19: Joanna vs. Waterson” in Tampa, Fla., at 2:57:27. It was the second longest in company history behind “UFC Fight Night 121: Werdum vs. Tybura” (3:04:18).
The shortest event of the year was “UFC on ESPN 3: Ngannou vs. Dos Santos” in Minneapolis at 1:38:12.
“UFC on ESPN+ 13: de Randamie vs. Ladd” featured 62 seconds of total fight time in the main and co-main event, the single-event record in company history.
At those events, the UFC drew an announced total attendance of 548,023 for a live gate total of $61,050,133.74 (Note: Live gate was not announced for 11 events; no attendance was revealed for one event).
The highest reported attended event of the year was “UFC 243: Whittaker vs. Adesanya” in Melbourne (57,127), which was the all-time company record, while the lowest attended event was “UFC on ESPN+ 20: Maia vs. Askren” in Singapore (7,155).
The highest reported income gate of the year was “UFC 244: Masvidal vs. Diaz” in New York ($6,575,996.19) while the lowest reported income gate of the year went to “UFC on ESPN+ 4: Lewis vs. Dos Santos” in Wichita, Kan. ($636,417.26).
In 2019, 168 fight-night bonuses were given out for a sum of $8.4 million.
The most knockouts at a single event went to “UFC on ESPN 3: Ngannou vs. Dos Santos,” “UFC 244: Masvidal vs. Diaz” and “UFC 245: Usman vs. Covington” with seven each.
Henry Cejudo vs. Marlon Moraes
“UFC 238: Cejudo vs. Moraes” featured a total of 1,818 significant strikes landed, a new single-event record. UFC 231 held the previous high with 1,647.
The most submissions at a single event went to “UFC on ESPN 5: Covington vs. Lawler” with five.
The most fights to go to a decision at a single event went to “UFC on ESPN 4: Dos Anjos vs. Edwards” with 10.
“UFC on ESPN 4: Dos Anjos vs. Edwards” featured nine consecutive decision results, tied for the single-event UFC record.
“UFC on ESPN 4: Dos Anjos vs. Edwards” started with nine consecutive decision results, the single-event record.
“UFC on ESPN 7: Overeem vs. Rozenstruik” marked the third event in company history to feature two draws. UFC 22 and UFC 216 were the others.
Betting favorites went 319-182. Fifteen fights ended in a draw, no contest or had even odds.
Betting favorites went 22-18 in event headliners. Two fights ended in a no contest or had even odds.
“UFC on ESPN 3: Ngannou vs. Dos Santos” and “UFC on ESPN+ 22: Blachowicz vs. Jacare” had the most favorites come through victorious, with 10 each. On the flip side, seven underdogs won at three separate events.
Aspen Ladd
A total of 30 fighters officially missed weight for their respective contests. The 28 fighters in that group to compete went 10-17-1 in their respective bouts.
A total of 135 fighters made their UFC debut in 2019. Those fighters went 57-74-2 with two no contests. Debuting fighters who faced an opponent with at least one bout of UFC experience went 43-58-2 with two no contests.
A variety of circumstances caused a total of 19 UFC main event or co-main event fights to be adjusted, postponed or canceled entirely.
One entire event was canceled (UFC 233 in January in Anaheim, Calif.)
Ray Cooper III wants to face new PFL signee Rory MacDonald in 2020 to get one back for fellow Hawaiian B.J. Penn.
NEW YORK – Newly crowned PFL champion [autotag]Ray Cooper III[/autotag] has his eyes on the newest addition to promotion’s roster.
[autotag]Rory MacDonald[/autotag] signed with the PFL two weeks ago. When asked at Tuesday’s post-fight news conference about MacDonald, Cooper (20-7-1 MMA, 7-2-1 PFL) said he’d like to fight him to get one back for fellow Hawaiian [autotag]B.J. Penn[/autotag].
MacDonald (21-6-1) beat Penn by unanimous decision in their 2012 meeting at UFC on FOX 5.
“He’s a veteran in the sport. He’s got a win over BJ Penn, one of my boys, and I’d like to get him back on that,” Cooper said. “If I fight him first, I’ll fight him first. I’ll fight him whenever. I’m ready for him.”
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Cooper came up short in the 2018 PFL playoffs, but returned this year and realized his dream when he took out David Michaud with a brutal left hook to the body in the second round Tuesday night at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York to win the welterweight playoffs and $1 million.
After a successful first round, Cooper wasn’t able to get the fight to the ground and ate a few hard shots on the feet from Michaud, which wobbled him. But Cooper eventually was able to take Michaud down, and as Michaud was making his way back up, Cooper went back to the body to deliver the fight-ending blow.
Cooper said going to the body wasn’t necessarily his plan of attack, despite knowing that Michaud has struggled with a rib injury in the past.
“I just went in to try to take him out, hit him as hard as I can,” Cooper said. “It’s a fight. You can get caught in all places, and it’s going to hurt, and I just tried to blast him as hard as I can.”
Cooper said he was happy to turn things around this year, but already is focused on next season.
“I came close last year. It feels good, but I’m looking to win multiple titles in multiple years, so this is just a first step. Next year is going to be even harder, so I’ve just got to keep training hard and wait for what the future (holds).”
