Former UFC lightweight champion BJ Penn, who also held gold at 170 pounds, is no longer an active competitor in mixed martial arts (MMA). But that doesn’t mean the 43 year-old “Prodigy” is done fighting the good fight.
In fact, the first American to ever win a gold medal at the World Jiu-Jitsu Championships will be running for Governor in the great state of Hawaii. Let’s just hope that “Aloha State” voters don’t know what “landlocked” means.
“Hawaii’s got so many different problems with our housing problems, our energy problems, now everything with the gas,” Penn explained on the Joe Rogan Experience. “I really want to invite Elon Musk to come over to see if he can help us with Hawaii because it’s a landlocked state and everything comes in off the boat.”
Penn may not be the most well-spoken candidate in the Gubernatorial race, thanks in part to the abuse he took during his 20 years in the fight game. But one thing “The Prodigy” does have is the silver-tongued Tito Ortiz to help woo potential donors.
“Tito’s coming down, he’s gonna help me with one of my fundraisers,” Penn told Rogan. “He’s gonna be one of the featured speakers because he ran. That’s gonna be fun.”
“Make sure you put that online,” Rogan insisted.
Ortiz knows a thing or two about politics, having secured a seat on the Huntington Beach City Council back in late 2020. Unfortunately, his term was short lived, as the former UFC light heavyweight champion was forced to resign after wanton “character assassination.”
It was probably for the best, all things considered.
The 2022 Hawaii gubernatorial election will take place on Nov. 8, 2022. The newly-elected candidate will replace incumbent democratic Governor David Ige, who is term-limited and ineligible to run for a third seat. Penn, born in Kailua and representing Hilo, is one of six declared Republican candidates.