Pinky Promise! Penn Ensures Hawaii NFL Team Plus UFC

Since parting ways with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), BJ Penn has followed in the footsteps of his fellow former champion, Tito Ortiz in pursuit of a political career.

Widely known for his legacy as one of Hawaii’s all-time best sportspersons, Penn has already assured the people of his beloved state many different promises of change. On Wednesday (April 13, 2022), “The Prodigy” declared his latest hopes for the future.

“You know the rules!” Penn said on Instagram. “Governor Penn will bring Hawaii its first NFL football team and three UFC fights a year. It’s about time!”

As mentioned, Penn was released from the UFC in Sept. 2019 after video footage surfaced revealing the former UFC Lightweight and Welterweight champion engaging in a bar brawl where he was knocked out (watch here). The promotion was leaning towards making a grudge match with Nik Lentz until the incident occurred.

Penn is tied for the UFC record for the longest losing streak alongside Sam Alvey at seven in a row. He last fought to a unanimous decision defeat to a fellow veteran, Clay Guida in May 2019.

In the UFC’s ongoing history, the promotion has yet to hold an event in Hawaii despite having had stars like Penn and Max Holloway. Coincidentally, Penn makes this promise of UFC events coming to the state when next weekend (April 22 and 23), Bellator will hold their third and fourth Hawaii events.

When it comes to the thought of an NFL team, the closest there has ever been to that is the Pro Bowl which year after year sees the league’s fan-voted best players of the year compete against each other representing their respective conferences. The game used to be known for taking place in Honolulu’s Aloha Stadium. However, the NFL has appeared to fully break away from the long-standing tradition as they haven’t held a game in Aloha since the 2016 season.