B.J. Penn: A Closer Look at the Former Two-Division UFC Champion

Few fighters in the world can hope to even accomplish half of what B.J. Penn has. Penn is one of only two men to be a UFC champion in two weight classes, he is an esteemed member of the old guard who has managed to keep up with the times and he is one of the most famous figures in the sport.

How did all of this come to pass? How did B.J. Penn come to the infant sport and rise up to become one of MMA's most esteemed figures?

It all started in Hilo, Hawaii, when Penn's life was changed at the age of 17. What was the miraculous event that set Penn on the fighter's path? He was shown the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu by his neighbor, Tom Callos.

Penn started taking his Jiu-Jitsu training far more seriously in 1997 when he studied the art under the tutelage of Ralph Gracie where he eventually earned his purple belt. He eventually switched teachers again and earned his black belt in 2000 from André Pederneiras.

Many Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu purists would scoff at an individual earning a black belt with only three years of serious training; for people who pick up the material reasonably well it can take around a decade for a black belt, and for average people more. With such skills, it's no doubt why he is nicknamed "The Prodigy."

However, Penn proved at the 2000 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship (also known as the Mundials) that his three year black belt was no joke. He placed first in the black belt division and was the first non-Brazilian competitor to do so. This accomplishment alone would be enough for most people, but B.J. Penn eventually set his eyes on a new challenge after mastering Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: The Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Penn made his UFC debut at UFC 31 on May 4th, 2001, against a fighter by the name of Joey Gilbert, who was 1-1 at the time. Penn disposed of Gilbert via TKO 4:57 of the first round.

Penn had success in MMA and was hooked, he competed in two more fights, against Din Thomas and Caol Uno, in 2001 and he won both via stoppages in the very first round. His knockout of Caol Uno is especially noteworthy since he dispatched the Japanese fighter in only 11 seconds.

For his impressive victories, Penn was given a title shot over the formidable and ferocious Jens "Lil' Evil" Pulver at UFC 35. Despite fighting valiantly, Penn simply couldn't match his more experienced adversary; at the time of the fight Pulver had been in 14 bouts, Penn only three.

Penn came back from his loss stronger than ever. He would go undefeated over the next two years with a record of 6-0-1 (with the one draw being against Caol Uno for the UFC lightweight title; the draw put the division on hiatus for many years).

It was during this undefeated streak that Penn defeated such names as former UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra, Japanese sensation Takanori Gomi, Rodrigo Gracie, and Duane Ludwig.

But the most impressive victory of all during this time was when Penn choked out then UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes, a man many thought to be practically unstoppable, in the very first round at UFC 46 to capture the UFC welterweight championship.

Unfortunately, Penn vacated the belt due to a contract dispute with the UFC and moved on to fight outside the UFC.

It was during this phase of his career where Penn—really a natural lightweight—had one of the most interesting fights of his career: A bout against Lyoto Machida , a man who would eventually become a UFC champion, in 2005 that was contested at light heavyweight; a full three weight classes above lightweight (Penn weighed in at 191 pounds)!

Despite fighting way above his weight class, Penn managed to survive Machida's onslaught although the Hawaii native did lose the fight by decision. Penn rebounded by defeating MMA and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend Renzo Gracie.

By 2006, things had settled between Penn and the UFC and he was invited back to face the up-and-coming French Canadian Georges St-Pierre, a fight in which the winner was promised a shot at welterweight champion Matt Hughes.

Penn and St-Pierre met at UFC 58 and had an epic back and forth clash for the right to face Hughes and, in one of the most controversial decisions in UFC history, St-Pierre was ultimately chosen as the winner.

Despite losing the match, Penn wound up with a title shot against Hughes anyway thanks to an injury suffered by St-Pierre. Penn's second matchup with Hughes did not go as well as the first; Penn was caught in the crucifix position and was on the receiving end of many shots which caused the referee to stop the fight. It was a TKO at 3:53 of the third round.

This was the first time in Penn's career that he had lost two straight but, as with his loss to Pulver, Penn came back stronger than ever and went on to the most famous and dominant part of his career: His run as UFC lightweight champion.

After the loss to Hughes, Penn was given a rematch against an old adversary, Jens Pulver. Penn avenged his decision loss to Pulver by submitting "Lil' Evil" in the second round.

Penn then fought Joe "Daddy" Stevenson, a powerful wrestler who was 13-1 in his past 14 matches at the time of the fight, for the vacant lightweight title at UFC 80. Penn made short work of Stevenson en route to capturing his second UFC title and becoming only the second man to have a UFC title in two weight classes.

In his next fight, Penn would defeat former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk via TKO.

The next bout in B.J. Penn's career would be one of the most famous yet infamous fights in UFC history. Which fight was this? Penn's rematch with Georges St-Pierre in which Penn attempted to become the first man in UFC history to have titles in to weight classes simultaneously.

Penn was defeated by St-Pierre but not without a great deal of controversy; St-Pierre was accused of greasing and there was some evidence to suggest that the claims were true.

Regardless of the "grease-gate" controversy, Penn recovered from the loss with two title defenses over skilled competitors in Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez at UFC 101 and UFC 107 respectively.

Penn's career would hit an unfortunate slump at UFC 112 when he faced extreme underdog Frankie "The Answer" Edgar. In a shocking upset, Edgar managed to elude and out-point Penn en route to a unanimous decision victory and the coveted UFC lightweight crown.

The upset sent shockwaves throughout the MMA world, so much so that an immediate rematch was ordered for UFC 118. Edgar proved that the first fight was no fluke and the second fight looked almost like an exact replay of the first.

This was the low point for Penn's career; there was even some talk of him retiring! But, as with the other low points in his career, Penn rebounded.

When he met Matt Hughes in a rubber match to close out their rivalry, he knocked Illinois native out in only 21 seconds. After this quick victory many thought that B.J. Penn was back in force and that he was destined to recapture a title, be it lightweight or welterweight...UFC welterweight contender Jon Fitch had something to say about that.

The two men were put into a number one contender fight to see who would fight Georges St-Pierre next. After an epic 15-minute struggle in which Penn actually managed to take wrestling standout Fitch down several times, the fight was called a draw.

This is currently the crossroads at which Penn finds himself. He is 1-2-1 in his past four and is set to take on dangerous striker in Carlos Condit at UFC 137. While some may say the future looks grim for Penn and that his back is to the wall, it is in such situations that Penn has performed his best.

So that has been the career of B.J. Penn thus far. His tenure in the UFC has seen many crucial junctions in the sport and he has been part of many epic moments in the sports history, even his detractors on Internet forums would begrudge him this.