The Life And Career of BJ Penn, a UFC Legend
If BJ Penn had retired at the end of 2009 then we have no doubt that he would have been considered the greatest Lightweight fighter the UFC has ever seen. However, his poor record between 2011-2019 has cast doubt over that.
Penn is a member of the UFC Hall of Fame, is a former Lightweight champion, and a former Welterweight champion with the UFC.
Today, we are going to look at the career of BJ Penn and wonder if there will ever be a better Lightweight fighter than him. You can find Fanduel’s UFC betting odds for all upcoming Lightweight bouts.
The UFC Years
Penn spent 18 years fighting in the UFC, with one break between 2005-2006. During his time with the company, he became both its Welterweight and Lightweight champion. But he is perhaps the most famous for his 7 fight losing streak at the end of his career.
Lightweight Championship
After 7 years of fighting in the UFC (and briefly winning the Welterweight title) BJ Pen finally won the Lightweight Championship title.
He won it in 2008 after fighting Joe Stevenson. The title was vacant at the time so both men were fighting for the chance to win it.
Penn defended the title 3 times against Sean Sherk at UFC 84 on May 24, 2008; Kenny Florian at UFC 101 on Aug 8, 2009; Diego Sanchez at UFC 107 on Dec 12, 2009.
Penn still holds the record for most times defended Lightweight championship title.
He eventually lost his title to Frankie Edgar.
Welterweight Championship
Penn took three shots at the Welterweight Championship title. He won it on two separate occasions.
In 2008, Penn fought 5-time defending Welterweight champion Matt Hughes. Penn defeated him in 25 seconds and became the champion. He left the UFC straight after this and the title was stripped from him.
His first was in 2009 against Georges St-Pierre. The match was called off by the referee and Penn’s brother and Penn were taken to the hospital. There was a lot of controversies after the match as footage from the fight showed that his opponent had put grease on himself during the fight.
In 2010, Penn fought Matt Hughes. Penn beat him in 21 seconds and became the second fighter in history to win titles in two different weight categories. He lost this title one match later.
Featherweight Losing Streak
Penn won his last UFC fight in 2010, but he continued to fight for the company until the end of 2019. During this 9 year period, he fought in 8 matches – he drew the first one and lost the subsequent 7.
The first 3 fights that Penn took part in during this period were at the Welterweight level.
He drew against Jon Fitch but went on to lose against both Nick Diaz and Rory MacDonald.
He then dropped down to the Featherweight level. Penn lost all 5 of his Featherweight matches – he fought Frankie Edgar, Yair Rodríguez, Dennis Siver, Ryan Hall, and Clay Guida.
He lost via submission to Ryan Hall, this was the only match he ever lost in that way.
After his loss against Clay Guida, Penn announced that he would be permanently retiring from the UFC. This was the third time he had announced his retirement. He was 41 when he retired.
Outside The UFC
Penn is from Hawaii, he has a partner and two daughters that live on the island. The island is very important to Penn, he grew up there with his brothers. Penn has announced that he intends to run for governor of Hawaii in the 2022 election. Penn hopes to be remembered for his politics instead of his fighting.
Before Penn thought in the UFC he was a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter. In the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Championship he won a Bronze, Silver, and Gold medal in consecutive years starting in 1998. He is a black belt in the martial art. His Gold medal was won in the black belt division.
Penn has written 2 books – Mixed Martial Arts: The Book of Knowledge which is a guide book to MMA fights, and Why I Fight: The Belt Is Just an Accessory, an autobiography. The second book was a New York Times bestseller.
In 2009, Penn appeared in the film Never Surrender. However, this is the only film appearance he has made. His likeness and voice have appeared in multiple UFC fighting games over the last 20 years.