B.j. Penn
Pierre injured himself during training, the UFC announced that Penn would replace St. Pierre in an upcoming title fight, setting up a highly anticipated rematch with Hughes for UFC 63 on September 23, 2006. In the bout Penn controlled the first two rounds, but sustained a rib injury during the scramble to take Hughes' back in round two.
He was visibly different in the third round, appearing exhausted and missing punches he was landing earlier. Hughes was able to take Penn to the mat, and in side control crucifix position rained punches on Penn's head until referee "Big" John McCarthy stopped the fight at 3:53 of the third round, making this the first time that Penn had been stopped in a fight.
In an interview found on Penn's personal website, Penn stated that by round three he could hardly breathe and had no "mobility in his core." Despite the injury, Penn congratulated Hughes, calling him a great fighter and saying he deserved the victory.
Penn was a coach for The Ultimate Fighter 5, which aired on April 5, 2007. Penn lead a team of eight lightweight fighters, and fought a rematch against Jens Pulver at the conclusion of the series on June 23, 2007. He won with a rear naked choke in the second round after controlling Pulver from the mount and then taking Pulver's back. Although he held the choke for a moment after Pulver tapped out, the two then embraced, with both later saying they no longer held any ill will against each other.
On July 7, 2007, during the post-fight press conference of UFC 73, UFC president Dana White announced that Penn would stay at lightweight to fight current UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk. However, Sean Sherk subsequently was suspended by the California State Athletic Commission, and the status of the possible title fight was left in limbo as he pursued his appeals. With Sherk's title status still in limbo after months of hearings, the UFC scheduled Penn to fight Joe Stevenson at UFC 80 on January 19, 2008 for an interim lightweight title. The subsequent final decision by the California State Athletic Commission, which did not overturn Sherk's suspension, led to the title being stripped from Sherk and the Penn-Stevenson fight being upgraded to a full title bout, with the winner facing Sherk in their first defense.
Reign as Lightweight Champion
Penn knocked Stevenson down seconds into the first round with a right uppercut, then took Stevenson down, eventually inflicting a serious cut near Stevenson's hairline. In the second round, Stevenson fought more aggressively but was still unable to threaten Penn.
Penn worked to back mount and defeated him by rear naked choke at 4:02 of the second round to win the UFC lightweight championship. He celebrated the win by licking Joe Stevenson's blood off of his gloves.
With this win, Penn became the second man (after Randy Couture) to win UFC titles in two different weight classes.
On May 24, 2008 at UFC 84 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, Penn fought former champion Sean Sherk in his first title defense bout. Sherk attempted to take Penn down only once (in the first round), instead the fighters traded punches and leg kicks for the remainder of the fight.
In the closing seconds of the third round, Penn threw a punch and a hook that backed Sherk into the cage. Sherk then ducked under another punch, when he was hit in the head by a left knee from Penn.
Sherk went down and Penn continued with strikes, but the round ended before the referee stopped the fight. However, Sherk was unable to continue and Penn was declared the victor by TKO (strikes).
After the fight, in response a question by Joe Rogan about his future, Penn asked the crowd if they wanted to see him fight Georges St. Pierre and was answered with a loud ovation. Later, Penn told Fighters Club TV that he would face the winner of UFC 87 Welterweight title fight between Georges St-Pierre and Jon Fitch, which St-Pierre ended up winning by unanimous decision.
St-Pierre's victory led to the scheduling of BJ's next fight as a Welterweight Championship fight.
Challenge for the welterweight title
Penn challenged Georges St-Pierre for St-Pierre's welterweight title on January 31, 2009, the night before the Super Bowl. The date led UFC 94 to be billed as the "UFC Super Bowl Weekend," and it was anticipated to be the biggest UFC pay-per-view event ever. Before the fight with St-Pierre, Penn made a controversial comment that he was going to try and kill St-Pierre in the ring, but he later explained that he was speaking figuratively.
The first round of the fight was somewhat even, with Penn exercising elusive head movement, fast hands, and good take-down defense, thwarting all of St-Pierre's take-down attempts while both exchanged punches.
In the ensuing three rounds, however, Penn turned out a lackluster performance. St-Pierre scored his first take-down of the night midway through the second round, and by the end of the round Penn was visibly tired.
After the fight, Penn failed to attend the post-fight press conference due to having stayed in the hospital. Previously fighters would walk into the cage, see the cut-men who would apply Vaseline, have an opportunity to speak with their coaches or cornermen, and then have the referee check them before entering the cage.
To prevent an opportunity for the fighters to have Vaseline applied, fighters now must part from any company, see the cut-men, and then go directly to the referee and the cage. Finally, no cornermen will be allowed to have Vaseline in the cage between rounds.
In his first post-fight interview Penn spoke of his belief that if St-Pierre were found to have been "greased" he would lose all respect for him, while admitting that "(I) definitely got my butt kicked." Penn claims that before the match he warned the NSAC that St-Pierre might use grease intentionally. St-Pierre responded to the allegations by offering to fight a rematch against Penn. Penn went on record as accepting the offer for a re-match. Following his informal acceptance of a proposed second rematch, B.J. Pierre's cornermen, Greg Jackson and Phil Nurse, a fine of $250,000, and overturning the result of the fight to a no-contest.
It has now been confirmed by the UFC that he will defend his title against Florian on August 8th, 2009 at UFC 101.
Film career
Penn is set to appear in the film Never Surrender which is set to be released Lions Gate Entertainment in 2009.
Personal life
His nickname "B.J." is a shortened version of another nickname "Baby Jay", which itself derives from the fact that Penn is the youngest of his brothers all named "Jay Dee Penn". BJ's father, who is Irish and English, named 3 of his 4 children "Jay Dee", while the fourth is named Reagan. Penn is the co-author of Mixed Martial Arts: The Book of Knowledge, an instructional book on mixed martial arts fighting.
Grappling credentials
CBJJ World Championships
2000 Black Belt Pena: 1st Place
1999 Brown Belt Leve: 3rd Place
1998 Blue Belt Pena: 2nd Place
CBJJ Brazilian Team Championships
2000 Marrom Preta Leve: Nova União, 1st Place
Misc.
Grapplers Quest Lightweight Championship Super fight winner
1997 Joe Moreira tournament - blue belt, 1st place.
1999 Copa Pacific tournament - Gold medal.
Black belt awarded by Andre Pederneiras
Legal troubles
B.J.
Penn was among a crowd outside the club when he grabbed the officer and struck his face. According to his lawyer, Penn was trying to retrieve his brother from the fracas and shoved someone to his side to get into the crowd, who turned out to be the policeman. Penn pled no contest to the charges in August 2007, and received one year of probation on December 11, 2007.
Mixed martial arts record
Jiu-Jitsu career highlights
May 1997 - Enters first tournament in Bakersfield, CA and wins both his weight and the open weight class.
June 1997 - Enters the Joe Moreira tournament as a blue belt winning his weight class.
June 1997 - Wins submission grappling tournament
1997 - Receives blue belt from Ralph Gracie
1997 - Enters Brasileiro and places 4th in his weight class, blue belt category
1997 - Continues to enter tournaments upon return from Brazil placing first consistently
1998 - Silver medal at Brazilian Mundials competition in his weight division; receives purple belt upon return
1999 - Bronze medal at Brazilian Mundials in heavier weight class as a newly promoted Nova Uniao brown belt.
1999 - Gold medal, Copa Pacifica Tournament in Los Angeles, CA
1999 - Receives Black belt from Andre Pederneiras just 3 weeks before the 2000 Mundials
1999 - Joins Nova Uniao Competition Team (reserved for the four top team competitors)
2000 - First non-Brazilian to win gold medal in black belt division of the Mundial World Championships held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil..