TMZ reports today that longtime UFC veteran fighter B.J. Penn has been cleared of legal charges in a sexual assault case due to “insufficient evidence.”
Penn was being investigated by police in Hawaii after a former writer for his website said Penn forced himself on his girlfriend in August of last year and removed her clothes against her will. Penn denied the charges and said it was revenge for being fired from his website.
Penn is 37 years old with a 16-10-2 record. His last MMA fight was in July 2014, losing to Frankie Edgar. He was booked to fight Ricardo Lamas last month, but he pulled out of the fight due to an injury. He is a former UFC Lightweight Champion with three successful title defenses and a former UFC Welterweight Champion. He first fought at UFC 31 back in May 2001. His highest profile fights have been against Matt Hughes, Jens Pulver, Sean Sherk, George St Pierre, Kenny Florian, and Diego Sanchez.
Keller’s Analysis: I don’t know if this will affect his potential return to UFC, but if this situation, more than an injury, played into his pulling out of his fight last month, maybe this will lead to a Penn fight being rescheduled soon.
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