UFC Fight Night 147: 10 memorable moments from the UFC's previous shows in the UK

#9: Penn claims Lightweight gold – UFC 80 – 01/19/2008

BJ Penn defeated Joe Stevenson to claim UFC Lightweight gold in Newcastle

While UFC title fights in the UK are rare these days, back in 2008 they were more common and so the UFC’s only visit to Newcastle was headlined by a fight for the then-vacant Lightweight title between BJ Penn and Joe Stevenson. Already considered a pound-for-pound great, Penn had won the Welterweight title in 2004 but had lost in his first opportunity to capture Lightweight gold in 2002 by coming up short against Jens Pulver.

Here though, he would not come up short at all. Stevenson was simply outclassed, dropped in the opening seconds of the fight before an elbow from Penn opened up a deep cut on his forehead. ‘Joe Daddy’ survived until the second round, but ‘The Prodigy’ was relentless and eventually forced him to submit with a rear naked choke.

It was the culmination of Penn’s journey to UFC Lightweight gold, and to make the moment even more memorable, he infamously used his post-fight promo to tell former champion Sean Sherk that he was a dead man. The fight was one of the most famous title fights of 2008, and remains one of the UFC’s most memorable moments in the UK.