UFC legend BJ Penn has been slapped with a paternity suit by the mother of his 14-month old daughter.
According to the story, which was initially reported by Combate and picked up by MMA Fighting, a pilates instructor by the name of Camila Amado Ribeiro has filed a lawsuit against former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion BJ Penn, asking for paternity recognition and alimony.
The 41-year old Penn reportedly met Amado in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil back in 2018, when he was training at Nova Uniao for his fight against Ryan Hall.
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The story also states that Amado flew to Hawaii in January of 2019 to spend time with Penn, and discovered of her pregnancy on her way back to Brazil a month later. In October of that year, Mahina Amado was born.
While BJ Penn himself has recognized Mahina as his daughter on social media, Mahina's mother claims that she spent a whole year trying to get the UFC legend to legally recognize the child as his daughter.
In January of 2020, a DNA test was done using samples from one of Penn's older daughters, and it revealed that “the probability of half-siblingship is 99.99999%.”
Camila Amado told Combate:
"He said all the time that he was going to come to Brazil, that he was going to come to her birth, that he was going to give me all the support. Talk, he talks to this day. On her one year anniversary, he said he would come, I asked him to come, all the time I tried to have a friendly relationship with him. I wanted to solve it in the best possible way, I do not fail to answer it, I do my part, because I think it is correct. It is a right of Mahina. What worries me is what this lack of recognition of fatherhood may cause for her in the future.
BJ Penn says he's interested in legally recognizing daughter
Combate was also able to get the side of BJ Penn, who says that he is fully interested in legally recognizing daughter Mahina:
"Speaking to Combate.com , BJ Penn said he had not yet been officially notified of the lawsuit. The fighter stated that 'he has already introduced Mahina publicly on his social networks as his daughter and has every interest in recognizing the child's paternity legally.' He also reiterated that he will talk to his lawyers to find out what next steps to take."
While Penn has had it rough outside the Octagon, his MMA career hasn't gone so smoothly either.
BJ Penn was released from from the UFC in mid-2019 following his involvement in a bar fight. Prior to his UFC release, Penn had lost nine of his last eleven UFC appearances.
While the latter part of his career may be forgettable, Penn's legacy as one of the best lightweights to ever compete in the UFC will likely remain.