UFC legend B.J. Penn has had a miserable year, arrested multiple times and slapped with a restraining order by his own mother.
On Monday, Penn was arrested once again, for the fifth time in 2025 after violating that restraining order.
Hawaii Island police issued a statement on the matter, which reads in part that “At 4:03 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025, Hilo patrol officers responded to a report of a violation in the area of Puueo Street in Hilo. Upon arrival, officers determined that Penn had entered a property in violation of the terms of a court order for protection in which he is the respondent.”
Penn was arrested in the area without incident, the statement continued. “On Tuesday, Sept. 16, he was charged with violating the order for protection. His bail was set at $2,000, which he later posted.”
Penn has not publicly commented on the matter. However, previous, concerning social media posts by the former champion and UFC Hall of Fame member indicated that he believed family members, including his mother, had been replaced by imposters.
A report by MMA Fighting noted that when filing for the restraining order, Penn’s mother, Lorraine Shin, suggested her son was suffering from a rare form of mental illness. “I believe my son [B.J. Penn] is suffering from Capgras delusional syndrome (a psychiatric disorder in which a person holds a delusion that a friend, spouse, parent, other close family member has been replaced by an identical imposter). He believes I’m an imposter who has killed his family to gain control of the family assets.”
Penn won both lightweight and welterweight gold over the course of his UFC career, and in his prime was considered one of the best to ever compete in MMA.
