At the turn of the century, the sport of mixed martial arts emerged out of the savagery of no-holds-barred competitions into a pursuit dominated by professional athletes trained in multiple disciplines.
With the weight division’s fixed, greats emerged in every class which defined an era. And among the lower-weight classes, with a size and body shape of the average man, as distinct from the rampantly steroid-abused behemoths, were the lightweights and welterweights. Prime among them was a young Hawaiian mixed martial artist who entered the UFC in 2001 as a 155-pound lightweight set to become one of the biggest draws the promotion has ever known.
Known as The Prodigy, BJ Penn emerged as foremost among professional MMA athletes and set benchmarks in the sport for others to emulate. This is a tribute to him.