B.J. Penn Wins UFC Lightweight Title in England

B.J. Penn is the new UFC lightweight champion. (MMAWeekly.com photo)

Following in the footsteps of Randy Couture (16-8-0), Hawaiian mixed martial arts fighter B.J. Penn (12-4-1) has become the second person in history to win UFC titles in two different weight categories.

On Saturday, Jan. 19 in Newcastle, England, Penn destroyed opponent Joe Stevenson (29-7-0) at UFC 80: Rapid Fire to win the lightweight title. Previously, Penn won the welterweight title by beating former champion Matt Hughes (40-6-0).

After knocking Stevenson down early in the first round, Penn opened a huge gash in the forehead of the Las Vegas fighter that nearly forced the ring doctor to stop the fight. The fight continued in the second round, as Penn knocked Stevenson down again, and then sunk in a chokehold, forcing Stevenson to tap out.

Afterwards, Penn and former UFC champion Sean Sherk (32-2-1) exchanged words in the octagon, fueling the fire for their upcoming match.

In a heavyweight match, Gabriel Gonzaga (8-3-0) took the early lead over opponent Fabricio Werdum (10-3-1) by landing hard leg kicks that knocked Werdum down more than once. Gonzaga seemed to fade as the fight went on, though, and his opponent landed a series of knees that caused Gonzaga to slump to the mat, where Werdum's hard punching brought an end to the fight.

Other winners at UFC 80 included Marcus Davis (14-3-0), Jorge Rivera (15-6-0) and Wilson Gouveia (10-4-0), all of whom scored impressive knockouts over their opponents.

Official Results for UFC 80: Rapid Fire
Jan. 19, Newcastle, U.K.

B.J. Penn def. Joe Stevenson by choke at 4:02, R2
Fabricio Werdum def. Gabriel Gonzaga by TKO at 4:34, R2
Marcus Davis def. Jess Liaudin by KO, at 1:04, R1
Wilson Gouveia def. Jason Lambert by KO at 0:37, R2
Jorge Rivera def. Kendall Grove by TKO at 1:22, R1
Antoni Hardonk def. Colin Robinson by KO at 0:17, R1
Paul Kelly def. Paul Taylor by Unanimous Decision at 5:00 R3
Alessio Sakara def. James Lee by TKO at 1:30, R1
Sam Stout def. Per Eklund by Unanimous Decision at 5:00 R3

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