BJ Penn is a renowned American fighter. He is a former professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. Penn is well known to all by his nickname, “The Prodigy.” In his professional career, he fought in the UFC and K-1. He is the first American gold medalist at the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship. In K-1, he won the Rumble on the Rock Lightweight Championship. As he became the UFC Lightweight and UFC Welterweight Champions, he became the second fighter in UFC history (out of seven) to win titles in multiple weight classes. He broke the all-time lightweight title defense record and a record of three subsequent title defenses.
With his glowing career, he earned his place in the modern-era wing of the UFC Hall of Fame. This successful man is considered one of the best competitors in the UFC’s history. He was also regarded as one of the world’s top pound-for-pound mixed martial artists early in his career.
BJ Penn Full Bio/Wiki:
Birthplace: BJ Penn was born on December 13, 1978, in Kailua, Hawaii. His full name is Jay Dee Penn III.
Parents: He is the son of Jay Dee Penn, an Irish American, and Loraine Shin, a Korean-Hawaiian.
Siblings: He has three brothers. They are brothers: Reagan Penn, Jay Penn, and Jay Dee Penn.
School: He attended Hilo High School in Hilo, Hawaii, during his early years.
Training center: He competed in MMA from 2001 to 2014 and again from 2017 to the present.
Child: He is the father of two daughters, Kulia Penn, born in 2012, and Aeva Lili’u Penn, born in 2008. However, he faced a paternity lawsuit in relation to his daughter, Mahina Amado, approximately a year after the girl’s birth.
Height: The height of BJ Penn is 5 feet, 9 inches.
Weight: BJ Penn’s weight is 145 pounds.
Age: BJ Penn is now 43 years old.
MMA Fighting History
In the fighting genre, he appeared in 32 games. He won 16 of the games and lost 14 of them. Details about his fighting career are provided below.
Fight history – pro
| Result | Fighter | Event |
| LOSS | Clay Guida | UFC 237 – Namajunas vs. Andrade |
| LOSS | Ryan Hall | UFC 232 – Jones vs. Gustafsson 2 |
| LOSS | Yair Rodriguez | UFC Fight Night 103 – Rodriguez vs. Penn |
| LOSS | Dennis Siver | UFC Fight Night 112 – Chiesa vs. Lee |
| LOSS | Nick Diaz | UFC 137 – Penn vs. Diaz |
| LOSS | Rory MacDonald | UFC on Fox 5 – Henderson vs. Diaz |
| LOSS | Frankie Edgar | UFC – The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale |
| LOSS | Frankie Edgar | UFC 118 – Edgar vs. Penn 2 |
| WIN | Matt Hughes | UFC 123 – Rampage vs. Machida |
| DRAW | Jon Fitch | UFC 127 – Penn vs. Fitch |
| WIN | Kenny Florian | UFC 101 – Declaration |
| WIN | Diego Sanchez | UFC 107 – Penn vs. Sanchez |
| LOSS | Frankie Edgar | UFC 112 – Invincible |
| WIN | Joe Stevenson | UFC 80 – Rapid Fire |
| WIN | Sean Sherk | UFC 84 – Ill Will |
| LOSS | Georges St. Pierre | UFC 94 – St. Pierre vs. Penn 2 |
| LOSS | Georges St. Pierre | UFC 58 – USA vs. Canada |
| LOSS | Matt Hughes | UFC 63 – Hughes vs. Penn 2 |
| WIN | Jens Pulver | UFC – The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale |
| WIN | Rodrigo Gracie | ROTR 6 – Rumble on the Rock 6 |
| LOSS | Lyoto Machida | K-1 – Hero’s 1 |
| WIN | Renzo Gracie | K-1 – World Grand Prix Hawaii |
| WIN | Takanori Gomi | ROTR 4 – Rumble on the Rock 4 |
| WIN | Matt Hughes | UFC 46 – Supernatural |
| WIN | Duane Ludwig | K-1 MMA -Romanex |
| WIN | Paul Creighton | UFC 37 – High Impact |
| WIN | Matt Serra | UFC 39 – The Warriors Return |
| DRAW | Caol Uno | UFC 41 – Onslaught |
| WIN | Din Thomas | UFC 32 – Showdown in the Meadowlands |
| WIN | Caol Uno | UFC 34 – High Voltage |
| LOSS | Jens Pulver | UFC 35 – Throwdown |
| WIN | Joey Gilbert | UFC 31 – Locked & Loaded |
Win-Loss Records:
The Mixed martial arts record of BJ Penn is given below.
Total: 32
Wins: 16 (Decision- 3, Submission- 6, Knockout- 4)
Losses: 14 (Decision- 9, Submission- 1, Knockout- 7)
Draws: 2
Awards and Achievements
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)
- UFC Welterweight Championship (One time)
- UFC 41 Lightweight Tournament Co-Champion (drew with Caol Uno in the finale)
- UFC Lightweight Championship (One time)
- Three successful title defenses
- Tied with Benson Henderson, Frankie Edgar, and Khabib Nurmagomedov for the most consecutive Lightweight title defenses in UFC history
- 2x Fight of the Night award (Opponents: Matt Hughes II and Nick Diaz)
- Unofficially Unified the UFC Lightweight Championship-I
- Knockout of the Night award (Opponent: Matt Hughes III)
- Modern-Era Wing (Inaugural inductee)
- 2x Submission of the Night award (Opponents: Joe Stevenson and Kenny Florian)
- Tapout of the Night award (Opponent: Matt Hughes I)
- UFC Second Multi-Divisional Champion
- UFC Lightweight and UFC Welterweight Championship
K-1 Fighting Network
- K-1 World Grand Prix Hawaii Superfight Winner
- Rumble on the Rock Lightweight Championship
Sports Illustrated (SI.com)
- UFC’s Greatest Fight (First Place) on September 23, 2006
- UFC’s Greatest Fight (Eighth Place) on March 4, 2006
- 2000s Fighter of the Decade (Top Ten)
MMA Fighting
- Welterweight Fighter of the Year Runner-Up (2006)
- Welterweight Fighter of the Year (2004)
- Lightweight Fighter of the Year (2003)
- Fight of the Year on March 4, 2006
Fight Matrix
- Most Noteworthy Match of Year (2002 & 2009)
- Fighter of the Year (2004)
- Rookie of the Year (2001)
Fight! Magazine
- Submission of the Year (2009)
- Mixed Martial Arts Lifetime Achievement Award
- 2000s Fighter of the Decade (Top Five)
Bleacher Report
- MMA’s Greatest Lightweight of All-time
- 2000s Lightweight Fighter of the Decade
Black Belt Magazine
- NHB Fighter of the Year (2008)
- Black Belt Magazine Hall of Fame
Eurosport Fight Club
- Fight of the Year (2006)
- Full-Contact Fighter of the Year (2004)
Sherdog Awards
- Beatdown of the Year (2008)
- Fighter of the Year – Honorable Mention (2004)
- Mixed Martial Arts Hall of Fame
IBJJF World Championships
- 1998 – Blue Belt Pena: 2nd Place
- CBJJ Brazilian Team Championships
- 1999 – Brown Belt Leve: 3rd Place
- 2000 – Black Belt Pena: 1st Place
- 2000 – Marrom Preta Leve: Nova Uniao, 1st Place
Other Credentials
- 1997 Joe Moreira Tournament – Blue belt, 1st place
- 1999 Copa Pacific Tournament – Gold medal
- Grapplers Quest Lightweight Championship Superfight Winner
- Black belt awarded 3 weeks prior to the 2000 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship
- Fastest Black belt of all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners
World Jiu-Jitsu Championship
World Jiu-Jitsu Championship Bronze Medal; Brown belt division- World Jiu-Jitsu Championship Silver Medal; Blue belt division
- World Jiu-Jitsu Championship Gold Medal; Black belt division
- First American to win gold in the Black belt category
- 1997 – Blue belt awarded by Ralph Gracie
- Nova União Competition Team (Reserved for the four top team competitors)
- 2000 – Black belt awarded by André Pederneiras
BJ Penn- Complete Profile
Political career: Aside from his MMA career, he also pursued a political career. In 2021, he announced his candidacy for governor of Hawaii in the 2022 Hawaii gubernatorial election.
Fighting Division:
Featherweight division: from 2014 to 2017
Lightweight division: 2001, 2022, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2018, 2019
Welterweight division: 2004, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012
Middleweight division: 2004
Openweight division: 2005
Reach: His reaching distance is 70 inches.
Style: His style is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Trainer: Jason Parillo was BJ Penn’s coach.
Rank: BJ Penn holds a 5th-degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from André Pederneiras.
Brett S. Hernandez is a former boxer and MMA fighter who has been working with us since 2021. He usually keeps us updated with all the MMA fighting events and match records. His boxing career and analytic skills made him the best fit for this position. In his early life, Brett also worked with several fighting clubs and organizations. He was also a newspaper sports journalist from 2018–2020 and covered all domestic and international MMA events. So Hernandez has a detailed record of many MMA fighters, including their strong and weak points.
