BJ Penn arrested in Maui assault

Former two-time UFC champion BJ Penn was arrested by Maui police late Saturday night after he was allegedly involved in a scrap outside a Kihei bar.

The retired mixed martial arts fighter from Hilo was released early Sunday morning pending an investigation, a Maui police spokes­man said Monday.

Penn, 36, was arrested following the altercation at about 10 p.m. outside of Kahale’s Beach Club in Kihei. The victim, a 37-year-old man from Kahu­lui, was not identified.

The Kahului man was taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center, where he was treated and released, according to police. The extent of his injuries was not released.

Penn could not be reached for comment, and Penn’s older brother, JD Penn, declined to discuss the incident.

The former professional fighter was arrested just before 11 p.m. and released at 12:18 a.m. Sunday, police said. Maui­watch.com originally reported that Penn fought with a friend and was arrested later at his hotel room.

This was not Penn’s first run-in with the law. In May 2005 he was arrested for allegedly hitting a police officer outside a Wai­kiki nightclub. He pleaded no contest to assault and served one year of probation.

Penn, whose nickname in the ring was "The Prodigy," made his professional debut in mixed martial arts in 2001, and is one of only two fighters to hold Ultimate Fighting Championship world titles in multiple weight classes.

He competed in the featherweight, lightweight, welterweight, middleweight and heavyweight divisions, and is a former UFC Lightweight Champion and UFC Welterweight Champion.

Penn went eight years without losing a fight at lightweight (155 pounds). That streak ended in April 2010 when he lost the UFC lightweight title to Frankie Edgar via a split decision. That was the first of five losses in his last seven fights to end his career.

Penn retired following his third loss to Edgar in July and holds a 16-10-2 professional record.

The Penn Hawaii Youth Foundation was established 10 years ago with the mission "to encourage positive values in Hawaii’s through the martial arts way … and foster the Hawaiian values of kindness, humility, respect, ‘ohana, teamwork and patience." The goal, according to the foundation website, is "to show youth that true strength comes through the mind, not the fist."

Before beginning his fight career, Penn became the first non-Brazilian to win the black-belt division at the World Jiu-Jitsu Championships in Rio de Janeiro.

In recent years Penn helped open two UFC Gyms on Oahu bearing his name, in Kaka­ako and Waikele.

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Star-Advertiser sports reporter Billy Hull contributed to this report.