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B.J. Penn to make UFC return in June

Billy Hull
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STAR-ADVERTISER / AUG. 2012

UFC Hall of Fame fighter B.J. Penn will return to the cage at UFC 199 in a fight against Dennis Siver in Los Angeles on June 4.

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STAR-ADVERTISER / AUG. 2012 UFC Hall of Fame fighter B.J. Penn will return to the cage at UFC 199 in a fight against Dennis Siver in Los Angeles on June 4.

UFC Hall of Fame fighter B.J. Penn will return to the cage at UFC 199 in a fight against Dennis Siver in Los Angeles on June 4 the organization confirmed today.

Penn, 37, was hopeful to make his return sooner but was accused on social media by an ex-employee of his website of sexual assault in February.

No charges were filed and Penn denied the claims but the UFC postponed his return to conduct its own investigation.

In a statement released today, the UFC said, “following a review of the matter by Campbell & Williams, a Las Vegas-based law firm hired by UFC to evaluate the situation, UFC has been informed that no criminal or civil charges have been filed against Penn to date, nor has any action been taken by local law enforcement. It should be noted that UFC reserves the right to reevaluate the matter should new information be made available.”

Penn (16-10-2, 12-9-2 UFC) last fought in July 2014 against Frankie Edgar and was stopped in the third round. He announced his retirement after the fight.

The Hilo native is one of two UFC fighters to hold world titles in multiple weight classes but is just 1-5-1 over his last seven fights.

UFC 199 will be held at The Forum and broadcast on pay-per-view. The main event is a middleweight title fight between champion Luke Rockhold and Chris Weidman and bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz will defend his belt against Urijah Faber.

31 responses to “B.J. Penn to make UFC return in June”

  1. pgkemp says:

    bj should retire….

    • primo1 says:

      He did retire – he needs to stay retired. Maybe another good whoopin’ will do the trick.

    • cholo says:

      might be different this time. greg jackson is training him now and this cholo thinks that will be the difference. marinovich was key before too when he beat florian and sanchez. bj needs to surround himself with proven winners and keep the chumps away.

  2. lopati15 says:

    he still young he just needs to change up a little.

  3. Keonigohan says:

    Oh no.

  4. fiveo says:

    The guy has issues which will come back to bite him no matter how he does in the ring. Kind of like what plagues Billy Kenoi. Wonder if it is the water in Hilo?
    What say you??

  5. islandsun says:

    Why? Maybe wont even train properly.

  6. HawaiiCheeseBall says:

    “You ready for another beating? You shoulda never came back!” Clubber Lang to Rocky in Rocky III.

  7. Threem says:

    He should stay retired before he gets even more brain damaged.

  8. BigOpu says:

    UFC must be desperate. They are squeezing whatever money he has left in him because he’s not a main attraction. Maybe in Hilo, but not anywhere else.

  9. saywhatyouthink says:

    Considering the beating he got the last time, this is ill-advised to say the least, particularly at his age. But money don’t grow on trees and BJ gotta eat. The UFC apparently thinks there’s an audience that wants to see him get his *ss handed to him.

  10. ALLU says:

    This guy is a wrecking machine! And he’s hungry. Hell, you ain’t been hungry ever since you won that belt!

  11. BuhByeAloha says:

    This is going to be hilarious. The last dozen fights he had his head on a swivel. Except for his win over an aging Matt Hughes, old BJ hasn’t done anything since 2009.

  12. BigIsandLava says:

    Sounds like plenny guys when lose money the last couple of BJ fights. Bet again. Garans he going win THIS time……..LOL

  13. BigIsandLava says:

    IkaikaAnderson: No pilikia braddah. Even politicians human. Post away.

    • BuhByeAloha says:

      Not when he should be taking care of business, at 2:52pm. Get some work done Ikaika, we voted you into this sweet position. Show us something. And Lavaboy, are you happy with the way Billy represented you?

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