Photo by Buda Mendes/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
A couple of videos obtained by TMZ Sports shows former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight and Welterweight champion, B.J. Penn, involved in a street fight in Hawaii.
The first video that surfaced (see it here) shows “The Prodigy” on top of the individual raining down haymakers, while the second clip ( watch that one here) shows the man knocking Penn down with a two-piece.
According to a close friend of Penn’s, Gary Levitt, B.J. was not the instigator in the fight, saying that the UFC legend was blindsided by the man and then tagged with a few more punches before Penn was forced to do anything.
“I spoke to B.J., and B.J.’s like, ‘No, I did nothing,’” Levitt said via a statement obtained by MMA Junkie. The unidentified man who went toe-to-toe with Penn, however, says it was him who was hit with the cheap shot from B.J.
A claim Levitt shot down.
“He said the guy punched him, and many, many people saw it, and (the guy) punched him again, and he went, ‘Stop, what are you doing?’” Levitt said while explaining that the first video that surfaced shows what happened after Penn was sucker punched.
“And he said (the man) must have punched him at least four times, and some people are saying it was more like seven or eight times. B.J. did not do anything, meaning (he) didn’t fight back. He was just backing up and saying, ‘Hey.’”
Ultimately, Penn did do something, as the second video shows him hitting the man four times in the head. Still, Levitt says it was simply self defense after being attacked by a man he says is an acquaintance of B.J.’s.
Furthermore, Levitt says that Penn told him that he was not intoxicated during the brawl.
According to the report, a Hawaii Police Department spokesperson said the incident was diffused and most of the people were gone by the time units arrived, which means no arrests were made. And since anyone who was there claimed to have not seen anything, there wasn’t much police could do at the time.
Still, the spokesperson, said if an official complaint is made, there will be a forthcoming investigation, which could potentially put Penn’s proposed fight against Nik Lentz later this year in jeopardy.