Balls (Skycable Channel 34), the home of the UFC in the Philippines, proudly brings “BJ Penn: The Prodigy in Manila.” Fans will get the opportunity to see the 2-time UFC champion in an open training and public appearance on November 30 (Wednesday) 4:00pm at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall.
The 32-year-old Penn holds the rare accomplishment of winning two titles in two different weight divisions in the UFC. Penn is also the only man in UFC history to face seven different UFC Champions.
At the very young age of of 17, Penn tried his hand in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Three years later, Penn earned his black belt in the martial art. In 2000, Penn became the first non-Brazilian to top the black belt category in the World Jiu-Jitsu Championships. Penn‘s early exploits and success in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu earned him the nickname “The Prodigy” and Penn was well on his way to a promising career in the sport of professional mixed martial arts (MMA).
He made his professional debut with the UFC in May 2001 at “UFC 31: Locked and Loaded” against Joey Gilbert whom he defeated via a technical knock-out in just under 5 minutes.
His performance against the legendary welterweight champion Matt Hughes at “UFC 46: Supernatural” cemented Penn’s superstar status. It took Penn just 4 minutes and 30 seconds to submit Hughes via a rear naked choke, thus securing the UFC welterweight title.
On January 2008 in “UFC 80: Rapid Fire,” Penn defeated Joe “Daddy” Stevenson to finally earn the UFC lightweight belt that had eluded him twice prior. He then successfully defended his title three times.
He also successfully topped an epic trilogy against Matt Hughes in “UFC 123: Rampage vs. Machida” in 2010. Penn scored a knockout victory over Hughes in just 21 seconds of the very first round to claim the trilogy between the two legends, 2-1.
Catch this once-in-a-lifetime UFC experience with BJ Penn. Always tune in to Balls for updates. Balls channel is available on SkyCable Platinum, SkyCable Gold, SkyCable Silver and over 200 quality cable operators nationwide. Follow us at facebook.com/BallsChannel.
