Do you remember the famous saying that your teacher may have written on your report card after you completely failed a semester in school: ‘When you’ve hit rock bottom, there’s nowhere to go but up.’ To our greatest sadness, this saying definitely doesn’t describe the turn of events that put an end to Jay Dee Penn III’s career, also known as BJ for amateurs of MMA.
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Fans of this sport often think of him as one of their favourite fighters, and for good reason. In 2009, before he went downhill, Penn had a record of 15 wins against 5 losses, having only lost to legends such as Matt Hughes, GSP and Lyoto Machida but also winning 2 different belts (light weight and welterweight) and also fought in 4 different weight categories.
Through a series of losses
But since then, the fighter from Hawaii is no more than a shadow of his former self. After his first 2 losses against Frankie Edgar cost him his lightweight title in 2010, his return in the welterweight category the following year gave hope back to his fans. But then, after 7 consecutive losses that were broken up by two brief retirements that didn’t last, BJ Penn’s legacy was ripped to shreds.
Although he made it into the UFC Hall of Fame because of his two belts, BJ didn’t deserve it. The first submission of his career recently against Ryan Hall, the King of jiu-jitsu, was yet another heartbreak for fans, which also caused him lots of personal problems. The Hawaiian has a long history of anger management problems, such as those that were recently proven by the mother of his children.
A fight outside a strip club
And the video that has just been released by TMZ Sports will do nothing to save his image. In the video, you can see Penn fighting on the floor with another man above him, appearing to do quite a lot of damage and even trying to strangle him for a brief moment. The American site explained that this altercation took place outside of a strip club in Honolulu in the state of Hawaii.
The patron of the bar explained that this UFC fighter’s inappropriate behaviour was caused by excessive alcohol consumptions which led them to escort him outside. But then, he went after one of the bouncers and threw him to the floor. People tried to calm Penn down, but he didn’t seem to want to let it go. Finally, he ended up leaving the premises before the police arrived. We still don’t know what the legal implications against him will be.
