B.J. Penn
Born	Jay Dee Penn (1978-12-13) December 13, 1978 (age 33) Kailua, Hawaii,[1] U.S.
Other names	The Prodigy[2]
Residence	Hilo, Hawaii
Nationality	American
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[2]
Weight	169 lb (77 kg; 12 st 1 lb)
Division	Lightweight (155 lb) Welterweight (170 lb) Middleweight (185 lb) Light Heavyweight (205 lb)
Reach	70 in (178 cm)
Style	Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Boxing
Stance	Orthodox
Team	BJ Penn's MMA
Rank	Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Years active	2001–2011
Mixed martial arts record
Total	26
Wins	16
By knockout	7
By submission	6
By decision	3
Losses	8
By knockout	2
By decision	6
Draws	2
Other information
Children	2
Notable school(s)	Hilo High School
Website	http://www.bjpenn.com/
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
last updated on: October 11, 2011

Jay Dee "B.J." Penn (born December 13, 1978)^[3] is an American mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner who competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Penn was the first non-Brazilian winner of the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship in the black-belt category. BJ Penn is regarded as one of the most gifted martial arts fighters in the world. He is known for his incredible flexibility and his willingness to fight anyone regardless of their weight class, fighting as high as Light Heavyweight (weighed in at 191 lb) when he competed against Lyoto Machida (who weighed in at 225 lb) in 2005. His jab and his boxing are considered the best in MMA.^[4] He is the most decorated Jiu-Jitsu athlete in America.^[5]

A former UFC Lightweight Champion and UFC Welterweight Champion, he is only the second fighter in UFC history to win titles in two different weight classes, with the first being UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture.^[6] Penn served as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter 5 reality show. As of February 2012, Penn is ranked as the #10 welterweight fighter in the world by Sherdog.^[7] Penn holds the distinction of being one of only a very few fighters who have never been submitted and never been knocked down. He is on hiatus after losing to Nick Diaz at UFC 137 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Early life[link]

Penn was born to Jay Dee Penn, an Irish American and Loraine Shin, a third generation Korean-American.^[8] At the age of seventeen, Penn began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu after being introduced to it by his neighbor, Tom Callos.^[9] Callos had put up fliers in local gyms looking for people to train with,^[10] and BJ's father Jay Dee Penn had called Callos and said his boys were interested.^[9] Callos then taught BJ and his brother what he knew.^[10] Shortly thereafter, BJ moved to San Jose, California to begin training at AKA with Dave Camarillo and Bob Cooke, who he lived with and became close friends with. It was here during his time in San Jose that he decided to pursue a career in martial arts (albeit not mixed martial arts at the time).

Fighting career[link]

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu[link]

In 1997 Penn began training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Ralph Gracie, eventually earning his purple belt from Gracie.^[11] At that point he moved to Nova União where he was eventually awarded his black belt in 2000 by Andre Pederneiras.^[11] A few weeks later he became the first non-Brazilian to win the black-belt division of the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.^[12] While Penn's most well-known and prestigious achievement was placing first in the black belt division in the 2000 world championships, he had success at the Mundials in previous years. In 1999, at the age of 20, Penn finished 3rd in the brown belt division, losing only to Fernando Terere.^[13] Penn is thought^{[weasel words]} to have earned the fastest black belt of all active Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners.^{[citation needed]}

Ultimate Fighting Championship[link]

His accomplishments in the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship caught the attention of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, which convinced him to switch to MMA.^[14] Penn made his mixed martial arts debut with the company on May 24, 2001 with a win over Joey Gilbert at UFC 31.^[14] He then demonstrated strong striking skills, knocking out lightweights Din Thomas and Caol Uno before suffering a decision loss in a championship fight against UFC Lightweight Champion, Jens Pulver.^[13][15] In 2003, after Pulver left the UFC and relinquished his title, a tournament to crown a new champion flopped when Penn fought Uno to a draw in the finals at UFC 41, a failure which caused the UFC to later suspend its lightweight division.^[13] Penn bounced back later in the year with a victory over Takanori Gomi, future Pride Fighting Championship Lightweight Champion, in Rumble on the Rock, an MMA organization promoted by Penn's brother.^[13]

Penn received his first MMA championship in 2004 at UFC 46. Penn jumped up in weight classes to challenge the five-time defending UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes to fill a title contention slot in a division where Hughes had already defeated all the available opposition.^{[citation needed]} Heavily favored to win,^{[citation needed]} Hughes lost the fight four minutes into the first round by rear naked choke after giving up his back with only 23 seconds left in the round.

Fighting and Entertainment Group[link]

Shortly after defeating Hughes, Penn signed to fight for the Japanese Fighting and Entertainment Group's (FEG) K-1 promotion citing a lack of challenging fights left for him in the UFC.^[13] The UFC promptly stripped him of the welterweight title, claiming Penn breached his contract and that the signing constituted him refusing to defend his title. Penn filed a suit against the UFC and publicized his side of the conflict, claiming his UFC contract had already expired. Penn filed a motion to stop the UFC from awarding a new welterweight title, but that motion was denied.^[16][17]

In his first fight for FEG, Penn fought again at welterweight (170 pounds) and defeated Duane Ludwig at the 2004 K-1 MMA Romanex show in under five minutes by arm triangle choke.^[2] Following the Ludwig fight, Penn moved up in weight class to face the undefeated Rodrigo Gracie at middleweight (185 pounds).^[18] Penn won by decision, extending his winning streak to four fights.^[11] On March 26, 2005, at the inaugural event of FEG's new MMA promotion Hero's, Penn faced light heavyweight Lyoto Machida, losing by unanimous decision at K-1 Hero's 1. The fight happened at an open weight class with Penn weighing in at 86.5 kilograms (191 lb) and Machida 102 kilograms (220 lb).^[19] Later that year at K-1 World Grand Prix Hawaii, Penn returned to middleweight to face Renzo Gracie and won by unanimous decision.^[2]

Return to the UFC[link]

Hughes and Penn before their rematch at UFC 63: Hughes vs. Penn

In early 2006 at UFC 56, UFC president Dana White announced that Penn and the UFC had agreed to a settlement and Penn was to return as a top welterweight contender. Penn re-debuted on March 4 at UFC 58, losing to Georges St. Pierre by split decision in a fight that determined the number one welterweight contender.

After new top contender St. Pierre injured himself during training, the UFC announced that Penn would replace St. Pierre in an upcoming title fight, setting up a highly anticipated rematch with Hughes for UFC 63 on September 23, 2006.^[20] In the bout, Penn controlled the first two rounds, but sustained a rib injury during the scramble to take Hughes' back in round two. He was visibly different in the third round, appearing exhausted and missing punches he was landing earlier. Hughes was able to take Penn to the mat, and in side control crucifix position rained punches on Penn's head until referee "Big" John McCarthy stopped the fight at 3:53 of the third round, making this the first time that Penn had been stopped in a fight. In an interview found on Penn's personal website, Penn stated that by round three he could hardly breathe and had no "mobility in his core."^[21] Despite the injury, Penn congratulated Hughes, calling him a great fighter and saying he deserved the victory.

Penn was a coach for The Ultimate Fighter 5, which aired on April 5, 2007.^[22] Penn lead a team of eight lightweight fighters, and fought a rematch against Jens Pulver at the conclusion of the series on June 23, 2007.^[23] He won with a rear naked choke in the second round after controlling Pulver from the mount and then taking Pulver's back.^[24] Although he held the choke for a moment after Pulver tapped out,^[25] the two then embraced,^[25] with both later saying they no longer held any ill will against each other.^[23]

On July 7, 2007, during the post-fight press conference of UFC 73, UFC president Dana White announced that Penn would stay at lightweight to fight current UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk. However, Sean Sherk subsequently was suspended by the California State Athletic Commission, and the status of the possible title fight was left in limbo as he pursued his appeals.^[26] With Sherk's title status still in limbo after months of hearings, the UFC scheduled Penn to fight Joe Stevenson at UFC 80 on January 19, 2008 for an interim lightweight title.^[27] The subsequent final decision by the California State Athletic Commission, which did not overturn Sherk's suspension, led to the title being stripped from Sherk and the Penn-Stevenson fight being upgraded to a full title bout,^[28] with the winner facing Sherk in their first defense.

Lightweight Championship[link]

Penn knocked Stevenson down seconds into the first round with a right uppercut, then took Stevenson down, delivering a well placed elbow from the top position that inflicted a serious cut near Stevenson's hairline.^[29] In the second round, Stevenson fought more aggressively but was still unable to threaten Penn. Penn worked to back mount and defeated him by rear naked choke at 4:02 of the second round to win the Lightweight Championship. He celebrated the win by licking Joe Stevenson's blood off of his gloves. The win for Penn was awarded Beatdown of the Year by Sherdog for 2008.^[30] With this win, Penn became the second man (after Randy Couture) to win UFC titles in two different weight classes.^[31]

On May 24, 2008 at UFC 84 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, Penn fought former champion Sean Sherk in his first title defense bout. The fight was billed by play-by -play commentator Mike Goldberg as the "greatest fight in the history of the UFC lightweight division". Sherk attempted to take Penn down only once (in the first round), instead the fighters traded punches and leg kicks for the remainder of the fight. Penn landed jabs several times, utilizing his reach advantage over Sherk. In the closing seconds of the third round, Penn threw a punch and a hook that backed Sherk into the cage. Sherk then ducked under another punch – possibly to shoot for a takedown – when he was hit in the head by a flush flying left knee from Penn. Sherk went down and Penn continued with strikes, but the round ended before the referee stopped the fight. However, Sherk was unable to continue and Penn was declared the victor by TKO (strikes). After the fight, in response a question by Joe Rogan about his future, Penn asked the crowd if they wanted to see him fight Georges St. Pierre and was answered with a loud ovation.^[32] Later, Penn told Fighters Club TV that he would face the winner of UFC 87 Welterweight title fight between Georges St-Pierre and Jon Fitch, which St-Pierre ended up winning by unanimous decision. St-Pierre's victory led to the scheduling of BJ's next fight as a Welterweight Championship fight.

Welterweight Title shot[link]

Penn appearing on the cover of the July 2008 Issue of KoreAm

Penn challenged Georges St-Pierre for St-Pierre's welterweight title on January 31, 2009, the night before the Super Bowl. The date led UFC 94 to be billed as the "UFC Super Bowl Weekend," and it was anticipated to be the biggest UFC pay-per-view event ever.^[33] Before the fight with St-Pierre, Penn made a controversial comment that he was going to try to kill St-Pierre in the ring,^[34] but he later explained that he was speaking figuratively.^[35]

The first round of the fight was somewhat even, with Penn exercising elusive head movement, fast hands and good take-down defense, thwarting all of St-Pierre's take-down attempts while both exchanged punches. In the ensuing three rounds, however, Penn turned out a lackluster performance. St-Pierre scored his first take-down of the night midway through the second round, and by the end of the round Penn was visibly tired. At the start of round three, St-Pierre landed a "superman punch" that bloodied Penn's nose and shortly took Penn down again. From that point on, St-Pierre took Penn down almost at will, repeatedly passed Penn's renowned guard, and persistently punished the Hawaiian with a ground-and-pound attack.^[36] Penn later admitted that he could not recall anything that happened during the 3rd and 4th rounds because "I was probably borderline knocked out or something."^[37] At the end of the fourth round, after more of St-Pierre's ground-and-pound onslaught, Penn's brother requested that the referee stop the fight. After the fight, Penn failed to attend the post-fight press conference due to having stayed in the hospital. Subsequently in an interview he revealed that had he won, he would have retired "on top", while holding the lightweight and the welterweight belts.

A controversy arose during the fight as St-Pierre's corner-men were spotted rubbing St-Pierre's back immediately after applying Vaseline to his face. Members of the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) came into the octagon and wiped St-Pierre's torso down, though no significant amounts of Vaseline were discovered at this time. After the fight, on ESPN's MMA show, St-Pierre claimed that the rubbing was part of a routine to line up his energy for improved breathing, and he apologized for any Vaseline that may have been transferred to his body. Penn, however, sent a formal request to the NSAC, asking them to investigate.^[38] Despite all of the complaints by the Penn camp, the NSAC took no action.^[39]

In response to the incident, the rules of the UFC were modified so that only the official "cut men" would be allowed to have or apply Vaseline to the fighters. The procedures governing the transition from the fighters walk-in to the cage and while in the cage were also changed. Previously, fighters would walk up next to the cage, see the cut man who would apply Vaseline, be checked by the referee, and then have an opportunity to speak with or hug their coaches or cornermen before entering the cage. To prevent an opportunity for the fighters to have Vaseline applied illicitly, fighters now must first part from any company, have Vaseline applied by the cut man, be checked by the referee, and then go directly to the cage. Finally, no cornermen will be allowed to have Vaseline in the cage between rounds. In this way, the fighter's contact with Vaseline is fully controlled by the cut men and referee, who work independently for the UFC.^[40]

UFC President Dana White said that the incident had no effect on the outcome of the fight although he wished the incident had not happened. In his first post-fight interview Penn spoke of his belief that if St-Pierre were found to have been "greased" he would lose all respect for him, while admitting that "[I] definitely got my butt kicked."^[41] Penn claims that before the match he warned the NSAC that St-Pierre might use grease intentionally.^[37] St-Pierre responded to the allegations by offering to fight a rematch against Penn.^[42] Penn went on record as accepting the offer for a re-match.^[43] Following his informal acceptance of a proposed second rematch, Penn filed a formal complaint with Nevada State Athletic Commission seeking to prevent St-Pierre from fighting by suspending St-Pierre's fighter's license. In addition, Penn requested the suspension of St-Pierre's cornermen, Greg Jackson and Phil Nurse, a fine of $250,000, and overturning the result of the fight to a no-contest.^[44][45] The NSAC has since then instituted new rules that will not allow foreign substances in the cage, coined "The BJ Penn Rule" by some of the NSAC officials.

UFC 101 and return as Lightweight Champion[link]

Penn began negotiations to fight Kenny Florian in the summer of 2009.^[37] The Florian-Penn title fight was scheduled for UFC 99, but BJ Penn requested more time off after his fight with GSP. He defended his title against Florian on August 8, 2009 at UFC 101. Penn looked noticeably in better physical shape than his previous outings at 155 lbs and negated any sort of takedown offense from Florian the entire match despite his opponent's persistence in grappling and engaging the clinch.

On his feet, Penn avoided virtually any damage, constantly stuffing or evading any attempts of a left high kick, punches, or elbows from Florian when the two departed from the clinch. In a measured performance, Penn preferred to pace himself in his standup, occasionally showing explosive bursts of striking up until the fourth round, where he executed a powerful takedown and quickly assumed the half guard position, punishing the contender with elbows until gaining the full mount, where punches followed to continue the ground and pound assault from the BJJ specialist.

A scramble ensued, where Florian gave up his back twice but was unable to escape Penn's mount, the second time Penn took his opponent's back, he looked to trap Florian's arm with one of his legs, but was unable to do so, instead striking the liver of Florian with his heel, which eventually led Penn to secure a rear naked choke at 3:45 of the fourth round to defend his lightweight championship title.

Penn fought Diego Sanchez for the UFC Lightweight Championship on December 12, 2009 at UFC 107.^[46] Penn negated virtually any offense from the contender, exercising good footwork and elusive head movement whilst remaining flawless in his takedown defense on 27 attempts from Sanchez. He stalked his opponent for large periods of the match and stunned Sanchez early, dropping him; following up with multiple clean shots, which Sanchez showed good durability in weathering. Penn, showing good conditioning for the duration of the bout, continued to stuff all takedowns, punches and left high kicks from Sanchez and dominated with aggressive bursts of striking throughout. He hurt Sanchez several times, until finally rocking him with a flurry in the final round, swarming to finish the combo with a right high kick. The kick opened up a huge cut on Sanchez's forehead above his left eye, causing the fight to be halted on doctor's advice at 2:47 of the fifth round with a TKO. This also marked only the second fight in UFC history to end in the fifth round.

The performance marked the third time Penn had successfully finished a fight in defending his UFC Lightweight Championship.^[47] Later during the post-fight press conference UFC President Dana White told the media he was proud of Penn's willingness to take MMA more seriously in his training when earlier he felt Penn had coasted through the UFC solely on natural talent.^[48]

Losing the title[link]

Penn's next defense was on April 10, 2010 at UFC 112 against Frankie Edgar. Despite being an overwhelming favorite coming into the fight, Penn lost the closely contested bout by unanimous decision. After the fight, Penn congratulated Edgar on winning the belt and claimed that he had not felt quite right in the octagon. A report arose from his camp, saying, "He was battling a sinus infection and was on anti-biotics."^[49]

Penn fought Edgar in a rematch at UFC 118. In the card, UFC Hall of Famer and former five-time UFC Champion Randy Couture was set to fight world class boxer James Toney, making it the first and only event which had the two dual-division champions in UFC history.^[50] During the bout he was taken down three times during the first two rounds – and though Penn took Edgar down twice in the final two rounds – Edgar was able to negate his ground offense and control the fight with good movement and striking combinations. All three judges scored the fight 50–45 for Edgar.^[51][52]

Return to Welterweight and hiatus[link]

Penn fought welterweight Matt Hughes at UFC 123 in a rubber match after their previous two fights at UFC 46 and UFC 63.^[53] Penn defeated Hughes in 21 seconds of the first round by knockout after flooring Hughes with a right hand and following with additional strikes on the mat.^[54][55] Penn earned knockout of the night honors for his performance.

Following the UFC 123 post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White said that Penn would fight top welterweight contender Jon Fitch at UFC 127 in Australia.^[56] Penn trained with Matt Hughes and Floyd Mayweather, Sr. in preparation for the fight.^[57][58] Penn surprised Fitch by taking him to the ground instead of using his stand up skills. The fight ended in a draw and Penn stated that he would gladly have a rematch in the future. UFC matchmaker Joe Silva stated that neither the fans nor the UFC are interested in a Penn-Fitch rematch.^[59]

Penn was expected to face Carlos Condit on October 29, 2011 at UFC 137.^[60] B.J. Penn has relocated his camp to Southern California in an effort to prepare for the bout. Penn was joined in California by former UFC middleweight and Ultimate Fighter winner Kendall Grove and B.J.’s brother Reagan Penn, as they both prepared for their August 27 fights on the ProElite show in Hawaii.^[61] However, on September 7, Condit was pulled from the bout and replaced Nick Diaz in the main event against Georges St. Pierre.^[62] Dana White stated that Penn will fight Nick Diaz in the main event at UFC 137 after GSP pulled out due to knee injury. Penn lost via unanimous decision after winning the first round against the former Strikeforce welterweight champion, but was unable to mount any significant offense or defense against Diaz's brutal stand-up attack in the remaining two rounds.

Immediately following the loss to Diaz, Penn announced his plans to retire, saying into the microphone, "I don't want to go home looking like this." On November 1, Penn posted a message to fans on his website indicating that he plans to take some time off, but the retirement decision is not yet official. He said, "I want to thank all the fans for their love and support. I have decided to take some time off to enjoy life, train and teach. I will keep you guys posted with what’s next."^[63] BJ tweeted angrily at Jon Fitch and Nick Diaz, his manager has stated that the old BJ is back and could be returning to MMA.^[64] In April 2012 UFC president Dana White said BJ Penn turned down a fight with top 3 ranked, reigning Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez, and that Penn wants to continue at 170 pounds "whenever he is ready". White also said he feels that BJ Penn deserves to be in the UFC Hall of Fame.

Personal life[link]

Penn autographing a copy of his autobiography, “Why I Fight”.

His nickname "B.J." is a shortened version of another nickname "Baby Jay", which itself derives from the fact that Penn is the youngest of his brothers all named "Jay Dee Penn".^[65] BJ's father, who is Irish and English, named 3 of his 4 children "Jay Dee", while the fourth is Reagan. In order to avoid confusion each of the sons named "Jay Dee" goes by a nickname: "Jay", "Jay Dee", and "Baby Jay".^[66] Penn's mother, Lorraine Shin, is of Korean and Native Hawaiian descent.^[67]

Penn takes much pride in his Hawaiian heritage, his trainer Rudy Valentino had stated once that Penn played Hawaiian music during his entrances as a tribute to it; a tradition which Penn still continues. Penn has also stated that he identifies strongly with his Korean roots and has traveled to Korea to hold seminars. He also said that he gets his hot temper from his Korean side which helps him use this energy in his fights.^[68]

Penn's girlfriend, Shealen Uaiwa, gave birth to their daughter, Aeva Lili'u, on October 25, 2008.^[69] His new baby, Kulia, was born on January 8, 2012.^[70] Penn is the co-author of Mixed Martial Arts: The Book of Knowledge, an instructional book on mixed martial arts fighting.^[71] Penn, along with Dave Weintraub, authored the autobiography Why I Fight: The Belt is Just an Accessory in 2010. The book debuted at #22 on the New York Times bestseller list.^[72] Penn appeared in the film Never Surrender in 2009.^[73]

Championships and accomplishments[link]

[edit] Grappling credentials

• CBJJ World Championships
  • 2000 – Black Belt Pena: 1st Place
  • 1999 – Brown Belt Leve: 3rd Place
  • 1998 – Blue Belt Pena: 2nd Place
  • CBJJ Brazilian Team Championships
  • 2000 – Marrom Preta Leve: Nova União, 1st Place
• Misc.
  • Grapplers Quest Lightweight Championship Super fight winner
  • 1997 Joe Moreira tournament – blue belt, 1st place.
  • 1999 Copa Pacific tournament – Gold medal.
  • Black belt awarded by Andre Pederneiras

[edit] Jiu-Jitsu career highlights

• May 1997 – Enters first tournament in Bakersfield, CA and wins both his weight and the open weight class.
• June 1997 – Enters the Joe Moreira tournament as a blue belt winning his weight class.
• June 1997 – Wins submission grappling tournament
• 1997 – Receives blue belt from Ralph Gracie
• 1997 – Enters Brasileiro and places 4th in his weight class, blue belt category
• 1997 – Continues to enter tournaments upon return from Brazil placing first consistently
• 1998 – Silver medal at Brazilian Mundials competition in his weight division; receives purple belt upon return
• 1999 – Bronze medal at Brazilian Mundials in heavier weight class as a newly promoted Nova Uniao brown belt.
• 1999 – Gold medal, Copa Pacifica Tournament in Los Angeles, CA
• 1999 – Receives Black belt from Andre Pederneiras just 3 weeks before the 2000 Mundials
• 1999 – Joins Nova Uniao Competition Team (reserved for the four top team competitors)
• 2000 – First non-Brazilian to win gold medal in black belt division of the Mundial World Championships held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

[edit] Mixed martial arts

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • UFC Lightweight Championship (One time)
  • UFC Welterweight Championship (One time)
  • Submission of the Night (Two times)
  • Fight of the Night (One time)
  • Knockout of the Night (One time)
  • Most successful Lightweight title defenses (three)
  • Most consecutive Lightweight title defenses (three)
  • Most Lightweight wins in UFC history (10)
  • First and only UFC Champion to challenge another UFC Champion for a chance at holding two belts simultaneously in two different divisions.
  • Only man in UFC history to face seven different UFC Champions.
  • One of only two man in UFC history to win UFC championship titles in two different weight categories.
• Rumble on the Rock
  • Lightweight Championship
• Sherdog
  • 2008 Beatdown of the Year vs Joe Stevenson^[74]

Mixed martial arts record[link]

See also[link]

• List of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: B.J. Penn

• Official website
• Professional MMA record for B.J. Penn from Sherdog
• UFC Profile
• BJJ Heroes BJ Penn Profile

Rory Macdonald may refer to:

• Rory Macdonald (musician) (born 1949), bassist of the Scottish Celtic rock band Runrig
• Rory Macdonald (conductor) (born 1980), Scottish conductor
• Rory MacDonald (fighter) (born 1989), Canadian professional mixed martial artist

This disambiguation page lists articles about people with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Renzo Gracie
Born	(1967-03-11) March 11, 1967 (age 45) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Residence	Holmdel Township, New Jersey, US
Nationality	Brazilian
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight	171 lb (78 kg; 12 st 3 lb)
Division	Welterweight (170 lb) Middleweight (185lb)
Style	Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Judo
Stance	Orthodox
Fighting out of	New York, New York, United States
Team	Renzo Gracie Combat Team
Rank	6th degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu      Black belt in Judo
Years active	1992-2010
Mixed martial arts record
Total	22
Wins	13
By knockout	1
By submission	8
By decision	3
By disqualification	1
Losses	7
By knockout	2
By submission	1
By decision	4
Draws	1
No contests	1
Other information
Notable relatives	Gracie family
Notable students	Matt Serra, Nick Serra, Ricardo Almeida, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Georges St. Pierre, Rolles Gracie, Chris Weidman, Kyra Gracie, Frankie Edgar, Roy Nelson, Mario Delgado Dávila, Gunnar Nelson
Website	http://www.renzogracie.com/
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Renzo Gracie (English pronunciation: /ˈhɛnzoʊ ˈɡræsiː/; born March 11, 1967) is a Gracie Barra Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Carlos Gracie Jr. and a retired mixed martial arts fighter. He is member of the Gracie family of Brazil. He is the son of Robson Gracie, grandson of Carlos Gracie, nephew of Carlos Gracie, Jr. and grandnephew of Helio Gracie.^[3]

A world famous Jiu-Jitsu coach, Gracie has helped train a number of professional fighters such as: Matt Serra, Ricardo Almeida, Georges St. Pierre, Frank Edgar, Rolles Gracie, Chris Weidman, Kyra Gracie and Roy Nelson. His brothers Ralph Gracie and the late Ryan Gracie were also famous fighters.^[4]

Mixed martial arts career[link]

Gracie has competed both in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and mixed martial arts events such as the PRIDE Fighting Championships, the International Fight League, RINGS, Martial Arts Reality Superfighting (MARS) and the World Combat Championship.

On February 10, 2007 Gracie won a match against former UFC light heavyweight champion Frank Shamrock for upstart MMA promotion EliteXC on its debut night Saturday February 10, 2007, on Showtime. Gracie was able to take Frank down fairly easily after being overmatched on his feet and was still able to dominate on the ground for most of the match before Shamrock was disqualified by referee Herb Dean due to landing numerous illegal knee strikes to the back of Gracie's head while both fighters were on the ground. Shamrock had already been given one warning earlier in the match for illegal strikes to the back of Gracie's head. After the match, Gracie had to be helped out of the ring and back to his dressing room by his team allegedly due to receiving a concussion from the strikes.
Renzo formerly coached a team, the New York Pitbulls, for the International Fight League.

Gracie is the head instructor at the Renzo Gracie Academy in midtown Manhattan. Many well known BJJ and MMA fighters have been trained by Renzo, including BJJ black belts Rodrigo Gracie, current UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre, former UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Serra, BJJ World Champion Rafael "Gordinho" Correa, Paul Creighton, former Middleweight King of Pancrase Ricardo Almeida, Sean Alvarez, Chris Weidman Alan Teo, Mike Codella, Carl Massaro, Shawn Williams,Gabe Koura, Chad Lebrun and GRACIE Magazine founder Luca Atalla.

Renzo Gracie also has affiliate academies in US, Brazil, Singapore, Canada, Mexico, South Africa and Israel. Also he opened a new academy in Honolulu where he trains the avid grappler Justin Vierra whose Portuguese heritage ties him in to the Brazilian Gracie family.

Gracie has co-written two instructional books on jiu-jitsu; “Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Theory and Technique”^[5] with his cousin Royler Gracie, and “Mastering Jujitsu”^[6] with training partner John Danaher. He has also been the personal jiu-jitsu teacher of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, since 1993.^[7]

Ultimate Fighting Championship[link]

Returning from a three year hiatus, Gracie signed a six-fight contract with the UFC in December 2009 and faced former UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes on April 10, 2010, at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.^[8] Although Gracie fared reasonably well against the American, he began to take more and more leg kicks, by the end of the second round, Hughes was taking more chances and the fight began to look more and more to his favor.

The third round saw Hughes score with a series of uppercuts and hooks that hurt Gracie. Hughes finished Gracie with a series of punches.^[9] Gracie lost to Hughes by TKO at 4:40 of round 3, becoming the second Gracie to fall victim to Matt Hughes, the other was his famous cousin Royce Gracie at UFC 60 both of which were caught in submissions though Royce refused to tap so Matt let it go.^[10] After the fight UFC president Dana White said: "Renzo Gracie is one of the good guys in MMA, But he looked old tonight".

Personal life[link]

Gracie is a resident of Holmdel Township, New Jersey. He and his wife Cristina have three children, Catarina, Cora and Ruran.^[11] He has eleven brothers and sisters, including Charles Gracie, Flavia Gracie (Kyra Gracie's mother), Ralph Gracie and the late Ryan Gracie.^[12][13]

Mixed martial arts record[link]

Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Loss	13–7–1	Matt Hughes	TKO (leg kicks & punches)	UFC 112	02010-04-10April 10, 2010	3	4:40	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Win	13–6–1	Frank Shamrock	DQ (knees to downed opponent)	EliteXC: Destiny	02007-02-10February 10, 2007	2	2:00	Southaven, Mississippi, United States
Win	12–6–1	Carlos Newton	Decision (split)	IFL: World Team Championships	02006-12-29December 29, 2006	3	4:00	Uncasville, Connecticut, United States
Win	11–6–1	Pat Miletich	Submission (guillotine choke)	IFL: Gracie vs. Miletich	02006-09-23September 23, 2006	1	3:37	Moline, Illinois, United States
Loss	10–6–1	B.J. Penn	Decision (unanimous)	K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 in Hawaii	02005-07-29July 29, 2005	3	5:00	Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Loss	10–5–1	Carlos Newton	Decision (split)	Pride Bushido 1	02003-10-05October 5, 2003	2	5:00	Saitama, Japan
Loss	10–4–1	Shungo Oyama	Decision (unanimous)	Pride 21	02002-06-23June 23, 2002	3	5:00	Saitama, Japan
Win	10–3–1	Michiyoshi Ohara	Decision (unanimous)	Pride 17	02001-11-03November 3, 2001	3	5:00	Tokyo, Japan
Loss	9–3–1	Dan Henderson	KO (punch)	Pride 13	02001-03-25March 25, 2001	1	1:40	Saitama, Japan
Loss	9–2–1	Kazushi Sakuraba	Technical Submission (kimura)	Pride 10	02000-08-27August 27, 2000	2	9:43	Saitama, Japan
Loss	9–1–1	Kiyoshi Tamura	Decision (unanimous)	Rings: King of Kings 1999 Final	02000-02-26February 26, 2000	2	5:00	Tokyo, Japan
Win	9–0–1	Maurice Smith	Submission (straight armbar)	Rings: King of Kings 1999 Block B	01999-12-22December 22, 1999	1	0:50	Osaka, Japan
Win	8–0–1	Wataru Sakata	Submission (armbar)	Rings: King of Kings 1999 Block B	01999-12-22December 22, 1999	1	1:25	Osaka, Japan
Win	7–0–1	Alexander Otsuka	Decision (unanimous)	Pride 8	01999-11-21November 21, 1999	2	10:00	Tokyo, Japan
Win	6–0–1	Sanae Kikuta	Submission (guillotine choke)	Pride 2	01998-03-15March 15, 1998	6	0:43	Yokohama, Japan
vDraw	5–0–1	Akira Shoji	Draw	Pride 1	01997-10-11October 11, 1997	3	10:00	Tokyo, Japan
NC	5–0–0	Eugenio Tadeu	No Contest (fans rioted)	Pentagon Combat	01997-09-27September 27, 1997	1	14:45	Brazil
Win	5-0	Oleg Taktarov	KO (upkick)	Martial Arts Reality Superfighting	01996-11-22November 22, 1996	1	1:02	Birmingham, Alabama, United States
Win	4–0	James Warring	Submission (choke)	WCC 1: First Strike	01995-10-17October 17, 1995	1	2:47	Charlotte, North Carolina, United States
Win	3–0	Phil Benedict	Submission (strikes)	WCC 1: First Strike	01995-10-17October 17, 1995	1	2:08	Charlotte, North Carolina, United States
Win	2–0	Ben Spijkers	Submission (choke)	WCC 1: First Strike	01995-10-17October 17, 1995	1	2:38	Charlotte, North Carolina, United States
Win	1–0	Luiz Augusto Alvareda	Technical Submission (rear naked choke)	Desafio: Gracie Vale Tudo	01992-01-01January 1, 1992	1	7:03	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Documentary[link]

On November 14, 2008, there was limited release on DVD of a documentary, titled "Renzo Gracie Legacy", which followed Gracie over 10 years of his life. The DVD was only released on Amazon.com and www.renzogracielegacy.com.^{[citation needed]} Its tag line is "A 10 year history of mixed martial arts through the eyes of Renzo Gracie, one of its most charismatic pioneers."

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Interview: Renzo Gracie and the Art of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu
• Renzo Gracie's ProElite.com Profile
• The official website of the documentary
• Renzo Gracie on Twitter
• Renzo Gracie's EliteXC Profile
• Professional MMA record for Renzo Gracie from Sherdog
• IFL profile
• Renzo Gracie
• Daniel Gracie
• Celsinho Venicius
• Gabriel Vella
• Gracie SP Butanta
• Gracie SP Morumbi
• Gracie RJ Barra
• t-shirts Ryan e Renzo Gracie

Dana White
Born	(1969-07-28) July 28, 1969 (age 42) Manchester, CT, U.S.
Residence	Las Vegas, Nevada
Nationality	American
Occupation	President
Known for	Managing The Ultimate Fighting Championship
Style	Boxercise [1]
Net worth	US$150 million (2010)[2]
Height	5 ft 11 in
Spouse	Anne
Children	3

Dana White (born July 28, 1969) is the current President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States.

Biography[link]

Born in Manchester, Connecticut on July 28, 1969, White grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada, Ware, Massachusetts and Levant, Maine. White is a passionate Boston Red Sox fan. During his youth, he bounced back and forth between Boston and Maine. He attended the University of Massachusetts Boston but did not finish; however, while there he did launch a boxing program for inner-city youth.^[3]

White has a background as an aerobics instructor. In 1992, White established Dana White Enterprises in Las Vegas. He conducted aerobics classes at three gyms^[4] in the Las Vegas area and began managing MMA fighters Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell.

While working as a manager, White learned that Semaphore Entertainment Group, the parent company of the UFC, was looking for a buyer for the UFC. White contacted childhood friend Lorenzo Fertitta, an executive at Station Casinos, and a former commissioner of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Within a month, Lorenzo and his older brother Frank bought the UFC, with White installed as its president.^[5] White currently owns about 9% of Zuffa, LLC, the entity the Fertitta brothers created to own and manage the UFC.^[3]

White failed to comment on a potential network broadcast deal at the UFC 136 press conference. The next day it was confirmed that the UFC and Fox broadcast networks had made a multiple year deal.^[6]

Controversy[link]

Loretta Hunt[link]

On April 1, 2009, White was videotaped in a verbal tirade against Loretta Hunt, a sportswriter for Sherdog, in response to an article she wrote. In the video posted on his YouTube account, White used derogatory language in an obscenity-laced rant. The video was pulled from his official UFC YouTube page but has been widely republished across the internet and come under fire, including by GLAAD for his use of anti-gay slurs.^[7][8][9] White would later apologize for his slurs. He specifically did not include Hunt in the apology.^[10] Hunt responded by saying "I stand by the story. It's accurate."^{[citation needed]}

Miguel Torres[link]

In December of 2011, White cut fighter Miguel Torres from the UFC after Torres tweeted "If a rape van was called a surprise van, more women wouldn’t mind going for rides in them. Everyone likes surprises." In an interview with Sports Illustrated confirming Torres' firing over the controversial remarks, White claimed "Now there's no explanation for that. There's absolutely nothing I could say to make any sense of that. And the fact that he even thinks that's funny or that's a joke, it disturbs me. It bothers me." The firing of Torres immediately sparked controversy after it was revealed that White did not similarly punish two fighters of greater marquee value – Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans, both of whom have fought in the main event of multiple Pay-Per-View cards and the latter slated to fight in the main event of a fight card scheduled to air on the FOX network on January 28, 2012 – for making similarly offensive remarks:^[11] Griffin commenting that "Rape is the new missionary"^[12] and Evans evoking the recent child abuse scandal involving Penn State University while promoting a fight.^[13] Torres has since re-signed with the UFC after having a talk with Dana.

Charity[link]

In December 2010 White donated $50,000 to the Fransisco Espinoza foundation. White donated approximately $8,000 to help pay for the brain tumor treatment of two-year-old British girl, Ruby Owen. The young girl's family had described themselves as being "shocked and over the moon". Ruby Owen's uncle, being a UFC fan had contacted White via email and asked if he could help by donating to the Ruby Owen fund raising website. White and Owen have never officially met.^[14] In an act of compassion towards a fan, he gave $300 to one man without hesitation who said that he "just received a speeding ticket while racing across town to meet him".^[15] Shortly after being named 2009 Nevada Sportsman of The Year, White added $100,000 from his pocket to the $250,000 total raised for the fund raising marathon sponsored by ESPN Radio 1100 for Las Vegas.^[16]

Feud with M-1 Global[link]

After signing negotiations with M-1 Global Russian Heavyweight MMA fighter Fedor Emelianenko fell through in 2009,^[17] White and the UFC became the subject of debate and criticism from fans and experts alike. On several occasions, White referred to Emelianenko as "a fake, a phony and a farce.^[18][19]

On June 26th, 2010 following Emelianenko's first legitimate defeat of his career to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace Fabricio Werdum, White shared a simple ":)" via Twitter.^[20] The same symbol was expressed by White following Emelianenko's 2nd round doctor stoppage loss to Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva in the opening round of the 2011 Strikeforce GP.^[21] White followed this with an insult to Fedor's manager and M-1 Global President Vadim Finkelstein.^[22] This began a war of words on the social networking site. M-1 Global’s director of operations, Evgeni Kogan, stood up for Finkelstein and invited White to repeat his words to Finkelstein in person. When fans attempted to reason with White, they were met with similar contempt and insults.^[23]

There is controversy over whether Fedor Emelianenko and White have actually met.^[24] White has claimed to have met Emelianenko on a "crazy island in the middle of nowhere".^[25] In 2011, Emelianenko denied that this encounter ever took place.^[26]

Personal life[link]

White and his wife have two sons and a daughter.^[27] He is an atheist, and has stated that he is "fascinated" by religion.^[28]

Accomplishments[link]

• Nevada Sportsman of the Year (2009)^[29]
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards
  • Promoter of the Year (2005–2011/present)^[30][31]
• World MMA Awards
  • Leading Man of the Year 2011
  • Leading Man of the Year 2010
• Armed Forces Foundation
  • Patriot Award^[32]

References[link]