UFC Hall of Famer BJ Penn Asks Dana White for Help Amid Legal Troubles

B.J. Penn is a UFC legend. Photo: Reproduction/Twitter/UFC Brazil

Former two-division UFC champion and Hall of Famer, B.J. Penn faces serious problems. Detained by the police four times in 15 days, the former fighter is the target of a legal restraining order requested by his mother for 'extreme psychological abuse.' The document is valid for 180 days.

In a video posted on his official Instagram account, Bj penn approached UFC brass for help. In the footage, he's outdoors with a house in the background.

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“This message is for Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta. I need your help. I was kicked out. This is the house I grew up in. I've lived here my whole life. I fought in the UFC, became a world champion, and everything. Mark Mastrov, UFC Gyms, I know we do a great job of helping promote UFC gym businesses. … I was kicked out of my house. An army has taken up residence in all these houses. I need your help. They made me stay here in this studio. If I go near the house up there, try to take my dogs, take anything I can, I'll be arrested. They made me stay here in this studio. Think about it. No one is here to help me,” Penn says in the video.

B.J. Penn Asks Dana White for help

Via BJPenn IG pic.twitter.com/AX5sZYi0Oh

— Dovy (@DovySimuMMA) July 24, 2025

Understand the case

Family tension reached a new level when Shin, 79, obtained a restraining order against his son following reports of "extreme psychological abuse." The order requires the fighter to maintain a minimum distance of 30 meters from his mother and 90 meters from her place of residence or work, and prohibits any physical, written, or electronic contact.

Penn faces a grand jury trial on July 2 on three charges: assaulting his mother and repeatedly violating a restraining order. Without a lawyer, he was advised by the judge to hire a public defender. The $3 bail he posted in his last arrest (equivalent to R$16,6) does not prevent further arrests if he is a repeat offender.

BJ Penn's Arrests

Violations of these terms have resulted in repeated arrests. The first arrest, on May 28, was for "abuse of a family member with offensive physical contact" after Penn allegedly pushed his mother against a car and prevented her from calling the police.

The following day, the second arrest took place for failing to comply with the period of absence required after the first bail. On the 31st, the third custody was granted for failing to appear at a hearing, violating the terms of the probation.

Finally, on June 12, BJ got into trouble again with his fourth arrest when he entered his mother's residence to 'obtain banking information,' as he admitted in court.

Capgras syndrome

In court documents, Shin told the Hawaii Police Department that his son suffers from Capgras Syndrome, a rare disorder in which the sufferer believes that people close to him have been replaced by identical impostors.

Recordings released by Penn himself on social media reinforce the theory: in one video, he shouts 'FAKE LORRAINE SHIN' and 'murderous thief' while the elderly woman protests.

Other cases of fighters

Despite the scarcity of reports about Capgras in the sports world, public episodes of psychotic episodes in fighters illustrate similar risks. Former UFC champion, B.J. Penn, for example, faced severe crises with delusional and aggressive manifestations, including allegations that his mother was an 'imposter murderer', a symptom compatible with the syndrome, although never formally diagnosed.

Other athletes, such as the boxer Mike Tyson, reported hallucinations and paranoia after years of brain impacts, while Tony Ferguson, ex-UFC, has already had problems related to persecution, such as the case in which he broke a wall because he thought there was someone behind it.