Dana White had once said, “I love B.J. B.J. has been a huge star for us for a long time. I think B.J. could be up in there in the talks of ‘Who is the greatest of all-time.’” From the moment he first stepped into the octagon, BJ Penn took the MMA world by storm. Jay Dee ‘BJ’ Penn III, is a former two-division champion who is hugely regarded as one of the best fighters despite his 16-14-2 career record. UFC 31 was the start of his amazing career and in some ways, he did take the combat sports world by storm. But in other ways, ‘The Prodigy’ could not fulfill his moniker’s purpose.
Born in Kailua, Hawaii, and raised on the island of Hawaii known as ‘The Big Island’—he did not find MMA until he was a teenager. But when he did it, it just took him three years to become a BJJ black belt. He was one of the best MMA stars during his time and defeated veterans like Din Thomas, Caol Uno, Paul Creighton, and Matt Serra. But who raised this legend? Let’s get to know more about his parents who made him into the legend we know today.
Where is BJ Penn from? Family, Background & more
Penn was born in Hawaii to Jay Dee Penn of Irish-American descent, and Lorraine Shin of Korean and Hawaiian descent. After his neighbor Tom Callos introduced 17-year-old Penn to MMA, he began practicing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Callos had put up fliers to look for people to train with and Penn’s father declared that he and his brother were interested.
Since then, ‘The Prodigy’ and his brother learnt the basics of BJJ from Tom Callos. After a few years, B.J. moved to San Jose, California, to start training at the Ralph Gracie BJJ academy with Dave Camarillo. His name BJ, has a unique story behind it as well. His father, named 3 of his 4 children “Jay Dee”, whereas the 4th child is named Reagan. So to avoid confusion he shortened his name to BJ.
He takes a lot of pride in his Hawaiian descent, which comes from his mother. Penn often opted for Hawaiian music during his entrances. It was always a mixture of Hawaii ’78 into E Ala E, performed by Hawaiian musician Israel Kamakawiwoʻole. He also resonates with his Korean roots and has traveled to South Korea to give seminars. The 46-year-old has daughters of his own now and is also the author of Mixed Martial Arts: The Book of Knowledge. However, even after achieving so much, recently, something bizarre happened with him and his mother, Lorraine.
B.J Penn shared a conspiracy theory about his mother
The UFC Hall of Famer has never been shy to vocalize his bizarre conspiracy theories. And now ‘The Prodigy’ has come up with a new one involving his mother Lorraine Shin. He recently uploaded Instagram videos where he was seen behaving like he doesn’t recognize his mother. Penn seemed to believe that his mother had been replaced with another woman who looks like her.
In one of the videos he said, “… She’s trying to steal everything, and this is not my mother. And I’m putting this out because she’s saying she’s going to get an attorney and try to do something. She’s trying to throw me out and if I attack her, she’ll try to do something, TRO (temporary restraining order) or something else.”
He also apparently found her ‘real’ name and said, “And it’s interesting when you Google ‘Lorraine Abile,’ our house pops up, ’cause this lady acts like Lorraine Inouye.” However, it does look like Penn’s mother in the video as per the numerous selfies and pictures he has posted with her over the years.
Even fans seem to be worried about this and comment things like “Holy s–t someone needs to help BJ”, and “@danawhite please help him! He’s a legend and needs you.” However, his behaviour is not surprising since he has been in the throes of legal cases with DUIs and other problematic behaviors. Dana White also showed concerns about his mental health before Penn retired. Is this a case of CTE from incessant head trauma from his MMA years or is it the result of something else? Tell us your opinions in the comment below.
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