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BJ Penn

BJ Penn is known as an American professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu player. He is most famous for winning both the Welterweight and Lightweight Titles in the UFC.

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Background and Age

Jay Dee "B.J." Penn III was born on December 13, 1978 in Kailua, Hawaii. The Penn family legacy is rich and prominent in its Hawaiian roots. At 17 years old B.J. Penn became acquainted with the universe of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu by his long time companion and educator Tom Callos. His passion for BJJ eventually carried Penn to Northern California where he prepared under Ralph Gracie and rose to the position of purple belt. With an undeniable skill for the game, Penn immediately climbed through the BJJ belt rankings.

Career and Net Worth

After such a speedy and astounding run in the realm of BJJ, Penn was nicknamed "The Prodigy" and was guided into the game of professional Mixed Martial Arts. He made his professional debut presentation with the UFC on May 24, 2001 in Atlantic City, New Jersey at "UFC 31: Locked and Loaded" against Joey Gilbert and won.

On January 31, 2004 Penn came back to the UFC against Matt Hughes at "UFC 46: Supernatural". It took Penn only four minutes and thirty-nine seconds to best the champ and win the UFC's Welterweight title. Penn went back to his divisional home of lightweight in June of 2007. At "UFC 80: Rapid Fire" Penn crushed Joe Stevenson to get a shot at the 155 pound title. After winning the belt from Sean Sherk, Penn defended his title multiple times before losing his belt to Frankie Edgar at "UFC 112: Invincible" on April 10, 2010.

In August 2019, recordings acquired by TMZ showed Penn in a fight outside a bar in the center of a Hawaii road. After winning the first part of the fight, BJ ended up getting knocked out cold in the streets. Gary Levitt, a long-term companion of the Penn family, disclosed to MMA Junkie that Penn was assaulted by the other man first.

Marriage, Wife and Kids

In April 2019, the mother of B.J. Penn's two children came out with some horrendous allegations against the former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion. Shealen Uaiwa claimed Penn is a drug addict that physically and sexually abused her and took steps to kill her on different occasions throughout the years. The charges included an attempt to force her to engage in sexual relations with other men and getting cocaine spilled on their oldest daughter.


Quick Facts
Net Worth 2021: 25 million
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Last Modified: Feb 19 2023
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