UFC Legend B.J. Penn Arrested on Drunk Driving Charge in Hawaii

Former UFC star B.J. Penn was arrested on Jan. 23 on suspicion of driving under the influence, Hawaii County Police Department spokesperson Denise Laitinen told Steven Marrocco of MMAFighting.com.

Penn was arrested in Honokaa, Hawaii, and has been released pending an investigation. The Hawaii County Police Department did not provide further details on the arrest. 

The 42-year-old Penn was also investigated for DUI last February after crashing his truck. And in Aug. 2019 videos emerged of Penn getting into a street fight. No arrests were made after the fight. 

"Everybody had dispersed, and the people that were standing around there didn't know anything about anything," Hawaii Police Department spokesperson Alan Richman told Marrocco at the time. "But apparently B.J. Penn was somehow involved in the disturbance. That's all I really have."

Penn went 16-14-2 in his professional MMA career and was both a lightweight and welterweight champion. His three defenses of the Lightweight title are tied for the most in UFC history. He's considered one of the best fighters in the history of the UFC, even if a seven-fight losing streak to end his career somewhat clouded his impact on the sport. 

During his career he defeated a number of talented fighters, including Jens Pulver, Matt Serra and Matt Hughes. He also lost to a number of well-regarded fighters, including Georges St-Pierre (twice), Hughes, Frankie Edgar (three times) and Nick Diaz.