Current UFC World Lightweight Champion, BJ "The Prodigy" Penn is a 29-year-old born December 12, 1978 in Kailua Kona, Hawaii and fighting out of Hilo, Hawaii. He's 5' 9" and weight 155 pounds. He's great at submissions as well as a strong stand-up fighter.

His professional MMA career was spurred by his introduction in 1996 to Tae Kwon Do. He is also highly accomplished in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. His first UFC bout came on May 4, 2001 when he beat Joey Gilbert by technical knockout, 4 minutes and 58 seconds into round 1 at UFC 31: Locked and Loaded. He followed that up with two more straight wins, first against Din Thomas by TKO stoppage at UFC 32 and then against Caol Uno by knockout at UFC 34.

His first UFC loss came next, on January 11, 2002, when Jens Pulver beat him by majority decision, though Penn bounced back from that humbling to win his next two UFC bouts, including a famous 2004 first-round submission against Matt Serra. It was the same year he achieved his most revered victory, jumping up in weight class to conquer five-time welterweight belt defender Matt Hughes with a submission by rear naked choke with only 23 seconds remaining in the first round. (Hughes would later successfully avenge himself in a 2006 rematch.) Other notable victories for "The Prodigy" included wins against Takanori Gori, Rodrgio Gracie, and Renzo Gracie.

In addition to his current title, Penn is also a former UFC World Welterweight champion and Rumble on the Rock Lightweight champion. At the time of this writing, BJ Penn's overall MMA record is 12-4-1.  

Penn penned his own MMA book, called "MIXED MARTIAL ARTS: The Book of Knowledge".