A Brazilian pilates teacher wants paternity recognition and alimony from former UFC champion BJ Penn, with whom she shares a one-year-old daughter.
A little over a year ago, former UFC champion B.J. Penn added a new milestone to his life when he became a new father to a baby girl. In June, “The Prodigy” introduced his daughter Mahina to the world through social media.
As stated on the post, BJ’s daughter bears his last name. But that is not legally the case according to the girl’s mother Camila Amado.
Amado recently spoke to MMA Fighting and touched on the paternity lawsuit she filed against Penn. Combate reports that the Brazilian pilates instructor filed the case in Rio de Janeiro in November.
“The last straw was having my daughter turn one year old, “ she said. “She only has my name on her birth certificate. He was always in touch with me, but always promises he would do what is right for her.
“It’s a very upsetting situation for me, who take care of my daughter by myself. My daughter is growing up and soon she will wanna know who her father is, and he’s a public figure.
“He’s used my daughter’s image, my image on social media. He put her name there, Mahina Amado Penn, which would be [her full name with] his surname, but he’s none of that,” she added.
Amado and Penn met in 2018 while the latter was training at Nova Uniao in Rio de Janeiro for his fight against Ryan Hall. Camila said she flew to Hawaii in early 2019 to spend time with Penn, then found out she was pregnant upon returning home to Brazil.
Amado also said it may take “a year or two” before the Brazilian justice system can officially notify Penn of the lawsuit. For now, all she’s asking is for him to sign the documents for paternity recognition and alimony.
In a separate statement he sent to Combate, Penn clarified that he “already introduced Mahina publicly on his social networks as his daughter and has every interest in recognizing the child’s paternity legally.” He is currently in talks with his legal counsel for the next steps to take.
As for his MMA career, the 41-year-old Penn has not won a fight since 2010. He was on a seven-fight losing streak before the UFC finally decided to release him from the roster in September 2019.