Former UFC champ B.J. Penn has been arrested yet again, his sixth arrest of 2025.
Penn, 46, has faced mounting legal troubles and concerns about his mental health. The latest incident, confirmed by Hawaii Island Police in a press release, saw Penn picked up by authorities on November 4, charged with third-degree assault, and released on $1000 cash bond.
“At 1 a.m., police responded to a report of an assault at a residence on Kanoa Street in Hilo. The 45-year-old male victim reported that Penn punched and kicked him multiple times before the victim was able to leave the area and contact police,” police officials wrote in a statement. “The victim later sought medical treatment for his injuries at Hilo Benioff Medical Center.”
Penn’s initial court appearance in the matter will come on December 2, 2025 at the Hilo District Court.
The incident is the latest in a troubling string of legal issues for Penn, who has previously claimed that family members, including his mother, had been replaced by imposters. Penn’s mother, Lorraine Shin, had previously issued a restraining order against the former fighter; his fifth arrest of the year came in September, when he violated that order.
An earlier report by MMA Fighting noted that when filing for the restraining order, Penn’s mother, Lorraine Shin, believed 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(a psychiatric disorder in which a person holds a delusion that a friend, spouse, parent, other close family member has been replaced by an identical imposter).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 held both lightweight and welterweight gold in the UFC over the course of his career, and was the biggest mixed martial arts star from Hawaii until Max Holloway came along. A UFC Hall of Fame member, Penn is remembered for fights with Matt Serra, Matt Hughes, Frankie Edgar, and Georges St-Pierre, among others.
