UFC Fighter B.J. Penn Gets One Year Probation

UFC lightweight title contender B.J. Penn got one year of probation for hitting a police officer during a fight outside a bar. (MMAweekly.com Photo)

Top-ranked mixed martial arts fighter and UFC lightweight title contender B.J. "The Prodigy" Penn (11-4-1) has been sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution for hitting a police officer during a fight two years ago outside of a bar in Hawaii.

According to a report by the Honolulu Advertiser, Penn must abstain from alcohol, submit to substance abuse treatment, perform 50 hours of community service and submit to random drug and alcohol tests. If he adheres to the terms of his probation, the offense will be removed from his record.

The sentence will not interfere will Penn's fight with Joe "Daddy" Stevenson (32-7-0) on Jan. 19 in Newcastle, England. Once slated as a match for an interim title, the fight will now be for the UFC lightweight belt, which was recently stripped from Sean Sherk (32-2-1) after the California State Athletic Commission reduced, but still upheld, his suspension for the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

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