BJ Penn News

Cole Shelton - May 30, 2019

In the main event of UFC 240, Frankie Edgar will once again be fighting for a UFC belt when he takes on Max Holloway. However, the oddsmakers don’t favor “The Answer” to win this fight. He is a +350 underdog, given he is just 1-1 in his last two. And, his last win was against Cub Swanson back in April of 2018.

Chris Taylor - May 25, 2019

It has been almost ten years since BJ Penn told Joe Rogan “I love you” during his post-fight speech at UFC 123 in Detroit. That evening, ‘The Prodigy’ had defeated longtime rival turned good friend Matt Hughes via knockout in just 23-seconds, thus reasserting Penn as one of top welterweights in the divison.

Matheus Costa - May 17, 2019

Last saturday wasn’t a easy night for BJ Penn as he suffered his seventh straight loss at UFC 237 after being defeated by Clay Guida via unanimous decision. And while there’s a lot of fans and even fighters calling for the legend’s retirement, Mr. Penn has received a backup on his cause from a notorious former opponent. Matt Serra, a former UFC welterweight champion, spoke about Penn’s last fights on the “UFC Unfiltered Podcast”. The headcoach for Serra-Longo’s Team showed some love to “The Prodigy” and didn’t join those who want to see him hanging up his gloves – for now.

Chris Taylor - May 13, 2019

Former two division UFC champion BJ Penn returned to the octagon for a lightweight fight with Clay Guida at Saturday’s UFC 237 event in Rio. After a good opening round for ‘The Prodigy’, Guida was able to turn the tide later in round two. ‘The Carpenter’ went on to get off the better volume of strikes in round three and was thus awarded a unanimous decision victory over Penn (29-28 x2, 29-27) after fifteen minutes of action.

Chris Taylor - May 11, 2019

A lightweight bout featuring former two-division UFC champion BJ Penn taking on fellow veteran Clay Guida took place on the prelims of tonight’s UFC 237 event from Rio de Janeiro. Penn (16-13-2 MMA) was last seen in action at December’s UFC 232 event in Los Angeles, where he suffered the first submission loss of his career to the always crafty Ryan Hall.

Chris Taylor - April 11, 2019

The Team of former two-division UFC champion BJ Penn has released a statement following allegations from his former partner. “BJ is in a highly-contested child custody case involving his two young daughters. The order of protection has made serious allegations against BJ.  The allegations are so, misleading, hurtful and false that any further comment by BJ or about BJ would cause more damage to the well-being of his children and potentially further inflame the pending custody proceedings. BJ and his family ask that you respect their privacy at this very difficult time.”

Chris Taylor - March 9, 2019

The octagon will return to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on May 11 for the promotions UFC 237 pay-per-view event. Learn how to watch UFC 237 here While the fight card is not close to complete, it does already feature some notable names including former UFC champions Anderson Silva, BJ Penn and Jose Aldo.

Tom Taylor - March 6, 2019

Former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion BJ Penn will return to the cage at UFC 237 on May 11 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he will take on a fellow veteran in Clay Guida. This bout was first reported by Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting. Penn confirmed this news with his website, BJPenn.com.

Christopher Taylor - November 29, 2018

The mixed martial arts community is still grieving after losing legendary Japanese fighter Kid Yamamoto to cancer this past September. Norifumi had announced that he was battling the disease back on August 26 via his official Instagram.

Chris Taylor - November 28, 2018

Former two-division UFC champion BJ Penn will return to the octagon on December 29 to battle Ryan Hall in a lightweight contest at UFC 232. “The Prodigy” has returned to his roots for this fight, training under his original jiu-jitsu coach Andre Pederneiras at Brazil’s famous Nova Uniao gym.

Tom Taylor - September 18, 2018

Ryan Hall is one of the best BJJ practitioners in the UFC. His UFC 232 opponent, UFC Hall of Famer BJ Penn, is also known for his dangerous grappling game. As such, many fans are excited to see how the pair match up on the mat. While BJ Penn has proven his ferocity on the mat time and time again, Ryan Hall doesn’t seem worried about his foe’s skill. In fact, he says he’s “not the least bit afraid” about a potential grappling match with his decorated adversary.

Cole Shelton - September 17, 2018

UFC Hall-of-Famer B.J. Penn will return to the Octagon for the first time since June of 2017 at December’s UFC 232 event in Las Vegas. Penn will be up against Ryan Hall, who won The Ultimate Fighter 22 and has not fought in the UFC since December 2016. The fight will take place at 155-pounds (lightweight), meaning both Penn and Hall will be moving up from their most recent home of featherweight for this fight.

Tom Taylor - August 6, 2018

Former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion BJ Penn has been all over the world over the last few months. One of his recent trips took him to Guam, where he chowed down at Crust, a gourmet Pizzeria in the capital city of Hagåtña.

Tom Taylor - July 25, 2018

In the opinion of Anderson Silva — a former UFC middleweight champion that many consider the best fighter ever — MMA’s true Greatest of All Time is BJ Penn. Anderson Silva called Penn the GOAT in a recent interview with CBS Sports.

Chris Taylor - March 31, 2018

Conor McGregor is just 310 days away from making UFC lightweight history Conor McGregor is on the verge of making UFC history!

Drake Riggs - March 2, 2018

A masked invader broke into the UFC 222 open workouts and attacked the featherweight champ, Cris Cyborg the other day! Who would do such a thing?! Obviously the one and only ‘Prodigy’ BJ Penn. It was a fun surprise for MMA fans and after all was said and done, Penn took time to talk about the champ, Cyborg with MMAJunkie:

Drake Riggs - January 25, 2018

Few fighters were as essential to the lighter weight classes’ growth back in the early days of MMA as Jens “Lil Evil” Pulver. He was the UFC’s very first Lightweight champion and actually never lost the title. Pulver defended twice then took his fighting skills elsewhere. In his first defense, he was a part of the first Lightweight fight to headline a UFC event. His opponent? None other than the twenty-two-year-old prodigy, BJ Penn.

Chris Taylor - January 8, 2018

Former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion BJ Penn believes that while USADA has definitely helped clean up the sport of mixed martial arts, there is still a ton of room for improvement.   Speaking with BJPENN.com’s Chris Taylor, “The Prodigy” revealed that he believes many fighters have jumped off of testosterone in favor of Human Growth Hormone.   “I think that USADA made the cheaters jump from taking Testosterone to Human Growth Hormone. You know, exactly how Lance Armstrong cheated for all of those years… That is what is happening now.”   Cyclist Lance Armstrong was infamously stripped of his seven Tour de France titles after he admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs which included EPO, HGH and other banned substances.   In October of 2012 USADA formally charged Lance Armstrong of running a massive doping ring which they labelled “the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sports had ever seen.”   According to Penn, the symptoms of HGH, which include having a bloated stomach, are quite visible in the sport of mixed martial arts today.   “USADA told me that they have a test to catch HGH users but I haven’t seen anyone getting busted and everyone’s stomachs are getting bigger. I see it all the time. Fighters shoulders are getting smaller and their stomachs are getting bigger because they are jumping off testosterone and taking HGH.”   Taylor brought up the fact that USADA claims to have a test that would could prove fighters have taken HGH within the past two weeks. Still, Penn questions the lack of results stemming from the test.   “Yea, (Jeff) Novitzky told me they have a test for Human Growth Hormone that  lasts for two weeks. But then why is no one ever getting busted and their stomachs are growing?”   Penn continued:   “It’s kind of like IV’s. I have never seen one fighter get busted for taking an IV twenty-four hours out of their fight. The only fighter who ever got busted for an IV was me, this after I disclosed that I had taken a glutathione IV following a visit with a concussion and brain injury specialist. They (USADA) tried to show that they had teeth by reprimanding a fighter who always speaks out about PED’s. Since that day, I have never seen anyone else get ‘caught’ for taking an IV. From my understanding, the only test that USADA uses for IV’s is looking for puncture holes on a fighter. Maybe they don’t realize that a massive weight gain after a weigh in is performance enhancing. When in reality, IV’s can be a huge advantage in the fight game. We aren’t talking about 150-pound men riding a bike.”   Penn brought up a previous fight where his opponent had put on 26-pounds in just twenty-four hours following the official event weigh-ins. “The Prodigy” recalled a conversation with Jeff Novitzky,  the Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance for UFC, about his opponents rather substantial overnight weight gain.   “My coach had seen my opponent weigh-in just hours before the fight and he had put on 26-pounds. I had eaten everything I could in those twenty-four hours and yet I only managed to put on 8-pounds myself. I told Novitzky about the situation after the fight suggesting that maybe my opponent had taken an IV. Jeff told me that they could not find any puncture holes on his arm and added that maybe my opponent just rehydrated better.”   In the end, BJ Penn simply wants to see a level playing field for fighters in mixed martial arts. At the moment, “The Prodigy” believes that there is still a lot of room for improvement in regards to USADA.   In a previous interview with SportsJoe, Tri-Star head coach Firas Zahabi explained why Human Growth Hormone (HGH) could be the most effective PED for improving a fighters performance.   “One time I was training a doctor and we were talking about that, what would be the most dangerous thing? What should we be aware of that our opponents might be taking. I remember him telling me that the best thing out there is HGH. Why? Because it helps you recover so much.” Zahabi continued: