Matt Hughes and BJ Penn before their rematch at UFC 63: Hughes vs. Penn (Lance Cpl. Stephen McGinnis/Wikipedia)
Not to be outdone by Conor McGregor‘s recent altercation at a bar, video surfaced this week of UFC Hall of Famer BJ Penn getting knocked out by a man on the street in Hawaii, then turning around and going after him to punch him multiple times in the head while on his back.
The video shows the shirtless man aggressively trying to fight Penn on the street, with Penn staving off the man in defensive positions while surrounded by people in a public street in Pāhoa, Hawaii. What instigated the fight is unclear, although Penn’s camp claims that the shirtless man was trying to fight Penn all night at a bar called the Lava Shack.
Penn used grapple hooks against the man in cargo shorts, who initially threw no punches. Afterwards, the man switched to a leg takedown, leaving himself exposed to the face, yet a seemingly calm Penn anchored one foot on the ground. This allowed the man to take a single leg in another unsuccessful takedown attempt. It wasn’t until a few turn-arounds that the man gave up fighting down low and came back up to the face, where Penn is heard taunting the man to hit him. The shirtless man then missed with a right, but connected to the chin with a left that apparently knocked out Penn on the street for a brief moment.
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Penn is seen quickly coming to and being lifted by people as he is getting himself back up.
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The second video cuts to moments later, where Penn had done a full mount on the same man, had him on his back and continued punching him on the sides of the face, with the man unable to respond. The unnamed man later called those “cheap shots.”
Penn, whose exposure has been less for his professional career and more for his personal life as of late, was accused by his estranged partner of sexual assault and abuse in April. He has also been accused of wielding a machete against a neighboring farmer in 2018, and for assault against an ex-employee in 2016 (with charges formally dropped).
UFC President Dana White stated that, after losing seven straight, Penn’s next fight against Nik Lentz will be his last, although a date has not yet been set. White has decisions to make after recent public conduct from two of his biggest stars.
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