UFC legend B.J. Penn was arrested for the sixth time in 2025 after police detained him following an alleged assault that occurred on the morning of Nov. 4.
Hawaii Island police arrested Penn on third-degree assault charges, and he was later released on $1,000 bail.
“At 1 a.m., police responded to a report of an assault at a residence on Kanoa Street in Hilo,” police said in a statement. “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. The victim later sought medical treatment for his injuries at Hilo Benioff Medical Center.
“At 11:50 a.m., officers located Penn on Lehua Street in Hilo, where he was arrested without incident.”
Penn, 46, is scheduled for his initial court appearance on Dec. 2 in Hilo District Court.
This is just the latest in a long line of troubling incidents involving the former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion.
He’s been arrested multiple times in 2025 primarily related to allegations regarding abuse of a family or household member and then violating a restraining order filed against him by his mother.
Lorraine Shin, Penn’s mother, initially filed for the restraining order after her son’s arrests on the abuse allegations following altercations between them at home.
Shin accused Penn of “extreme psychological abuse” after he began claiming that his family had been “killed” and replaced with imposters.
The allegations against Penn started after Shin claimed she returned home from a trip and found all of her belongings removed from her bedroom. Penn denied any involvement in the missing property. A few days later, Shin claimed her purse was stolen from a safe and that led to her making a theft report with police.
During the investigation, Shin told police she returned home from a separate trip and found that Penn had allegedly put duct tape over her security cameras and glue into the deadbolt lock on her bedroom door to prevent her from entering. Shin later accused Penn of stealing her mail, and when she claims she found the mail in the back of a vehicle that belonged to one of her son’s friends, the 46-year-old fighter denied it was her mail and allegedly grabbed her arms and shoved her against the car, which led to his mother screaming at the top of her lungs for her son Reagan Penn to help her.
Penn was eventually arrested and told to stay away from his mother for the next 48 hours, but Shin claims he returned to the home and she presented video evidence as proof to police, which led to Penn’s second arrest in as many days.
“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),” Shin told police when filing for the restraining order. “He believes I’m an imposter who has killed his family to gain control of the family assets.
“In the best interest for my safety, I ask the court for a six-month [temporary restraining order] and have my son ordered to get medical treatment or other source of therapy.”
A judge later approved the restraining order, which remains in effect until May 26, 2026.
More recently a judge actually paused the legal proceedings against Penn on those specific charges after ordering that the fighter undergo a mental health evaluation to determine if he’s fit enough to face the criminal charges against him. Depending on the outcome of the exam, the judge could potentially order Penn to be remanded to “an appropriate institution for detention, care, and treatment.”
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