BJ Penn III

Jay Dee Penn III is an American mixed martial artist popularly known as B.J. Penn. He began his professional career in 2001 up to 2014 when he took a break, then joined back in 2017 and still active in his career. He has competed in various divisions, namely, featherweight, lightweight, welterweight, middleweight, and open weight. He is considered one of the greatest fighters in the history of sports, having won a lot of titles for himself.

Well, how well do you know about B.J. Penn? If not much, we have compiled all you need to know about B.J. Penn’s net worth in 2021, his age, height, weight, wife, kids, biography and complete details about his life. Well, if you’re all set, here is what we know about B.J. Penn to date.

Biography and Early Life

Penn was born on 13 December 1978 in Kailua, Hawaii, U.S. He is the son of Jay Dee Penn and Loraine Shin. He is the third born in a family of four boys, all going by the name Jay Dee Penn except the last one called Reagan. His nickname B.J. stands for Baby Jay as he is the youngest Jay. The other Jays are Jay Dee and Jay Dee II, while he is third, thus Jay Dee III.

He began to be taught how to fight Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu by his neighbor, Tom Callos, together with his brother. After a short while, he moved to San Jose, California, where he continued his training at Ralph Gracie BBJ academy. He met Dave Camarillo and became very good friends.

Age, Height, Weight & Body Measurement

So, how old is B.J. Penn in 2021 and what is his height and weight? Well, B.J. Penn’s age is 42 years old as of today’s date 2nd August 2021 having been born on 13 December 1978. Though, he is 5′ 9″ in feet and inches and 175 cm in Centimetres tall, he weighs about 170 lbs in Pound and 76 kg in Kilograms.

Education

Not much is known about Penn’s educational background. However, it is clear that he attended Hilo High School. His higher education is not known if he ever acquired it. He decided to pursue a career in martial arts, which was known as albeit at that time.

Personal Life: Dating, Girlfriends, Wife, Kids

Penn currently stands unmarried, although he has two daughters from the same mother. He is said to be in a relationship with Shealen Uaiwa, although in 2019, she filed a lawsuit against him. She accused him of physical and sexual abuse, and a restraining order was given to her and his children.

Penn has found himself on the wrong side of the law on several occasions, most of them being brought about by alcohol violence. He even found himself behind bars after he was found drunk and shouting at the police.

Is B.J. Penn Gay?

Penn is straight as far as sexual orientation is concerned. He is neither gay nor bisexual, and no rumors of such cases have been heard. Although he is currently not married, he has two daughters with his girlfriend, Shealen Daiwa.

Professional Career

Penn’s career began immediately after finishing his BJJ training at Ralph Gracie and even won a purple belt from them. He then moved to Nova Uniao and earned his black belt, becoming the first non-Brazilian to get to the black-belt division AT World Jiu-Jitsu Championship. This success made Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) ask him to join Mixed Martial Artists (MMA).

He made his first MMA debut on 24 May 2001, where he won. In 2014, he won his first UFC Championship, and at this juncture, he jumped to Weight classes where he defeated Matt Hughes, a five-time UFC Welterweight Champion. He then signed to join the Japanese Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG), making UFC drop him, saying he had breached the contract.

Penn returned to UFC in 2006 as a welterweight fighter. He earned his lightweight championship after defeating Stevenson, becoming the second man to win UFC championships in two different weight classes. The first one was Randy Couture. Penn tried to outweigh St.- Pierre from his welterweight title on 31 January 2009, but he did not win. He decided to return to the Lightweight championship, but unfortunately, he lost the title to Frankie Edgar on 10 April 2010.

Penn returned to welterweight and defeated Hughes a second time in 21 seconds of the first round. He then had a fight with Nick Diaz and was defeated, after which he announced his retirement. After his return, he went straight to the featherweight division but as a coach for that season Ultimate fighter. In late 2018, he decided to return to lightweight to face Ryan Hall. He was to face Nick Lentz in a grudge fight on 26 July 2019, but he was released from it in early September.

Awards

Penn’s career journey has been good, and he won a lot of titles and awards. In most cases, he has been recognized as the best champion in fighting history. He has been honored with UFC Hall o Fame as well.

Net Worth, Salary & Earnings of B.J. Penn in 2021

As of 2021, Penn has an estimated net worth of $25 million. He has made his wealth from his career as a mixed martial artist. He has won in many fights, and the pay is quite huge, thus the great amount of money. Apart from that, he has also been featured in acting and also writing, which has generally increased his earning.

Some Interesting Facts You Need To Know

• Penn co-authored Mixed Martial Arts: The Book of Knowledge and also Why I Fight: The Belt Is Just an Accessory with David Weintraub
• He has emerged as one of the greatest stars in sports, having headlined eleven main events in his career.
• He is one of the most controversial and outspoken fighters in MMA history.

Penn has taught us that whatever talent that we have can take us to great places. His career has made him a great champion known all over the world. He has received various titles and has been described as one who is hardworking and disciplined. With his talent, he will strive even higher.