BJ Penn’s return to the Octagon has been put on hold for the time being pending an investigation by the UFC after serious allegations were leveled at the hall-of-famer by a former writer at his official website.
A long-time writer at bjpenn.com, Pedro Alex Carrasco, who also happened to live next door to the former lightweight and welterweight champion, took aim at him earlier this week on Twitter, alleging that Penn had sexually assaulted his girlfriend back in August of 2015 and had been a cocaine user for much of his life.
“Tired of seeing this pervert BJ Penn in the news,” Carrasco wrote on Tuesday. “Dude’s a cocaine addict, who sexually assaulted my Playboy model GF, and I have proof. Worked with that scumbag for almost 10yrs, lived next door to him. He’s had a Coke problem since he was a kid.
“Came to my home when I wasn’t there and forced himself on my girl, pulled her clothes off, then blamed me, said I looked at his GF ass. Needless to say I’m no longer with bjpenn.com. I know all his dirty secrets the stupid asshole. Doesn’t deserve to fight again.
“Those clamoring for evidence will have to wait, there is an investigation pending with the authorities.I just couldn’t hold my tongue.”
Penn hasn’t commented on the allegations, but today the UFC issued a statement in which they revealed that they’ve now postponed Penn’s comeback fight pending more details on the matter.
“UFC is aware of the recent allegations made against BJ Penn. The organization requires all athletes who compete in the UFC to act in an ethical and responsible manner, as detailed in the UFC Fighter Conduct Policy. UFC will not tolerate violations of the policy. Every athlete is deserving of proper review and this situation, as with any serious allegation, will be investigated by an independent party and thoroughly reviewed by the UFC. The UFC organization will also cooperate with any law enforcement investigation. In light of the serious allegations, UFC has postponed plans to book Penn for an upcoming bout until more details are determined.
UFC holds athletes who compete in the organization to the highest standard and will continue to take appropriate action, if and when warranted. It is important to note that Penn is considered innocent until proven guilty and UFC is not prejudging this matter.”
Penn had originally hoped to end three years of retirement by fighting on March 5th’s UFC 196 event, though he recently announced that his comeback had been pushed back to UFC 197 in April, with Dennis Siver rumored to have been considered as a potential opponent.
