title: Bosnian genocide

text: On 27 June 2005, during the 109th Congress, the United States House of Representatives passed a resolution (H. Res. 199 sponsored by Congressman Christopher Smith with 39 cosponsors) commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide. The resolution, as amended, was passed with an overwhelming majority of 370 – YES votes, 1 – NO vote, and 62 – ABSENT. The resolution is a bipartisan measure commemorating 11 July 1995 – 2005, the tenth anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre. The Senate version, S.Res.134, was sponsored by Senator Gordon Smith with 8 cosponsors and was agreed to in the Senate on 22 June 2005 without amendment and with unanimous consent. The summaries of the resolutions are identical, with the exception of the name of the house passing the resolution, and the substitution of the word "executed" for "murdered" by the House in the first clause:


title: Bosnian genocide

text: A trial took place before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), following a 1993 suit by Bosnia and Herzegovina against Serbia and Montenegro alleging genocide. On 26 February 2007, the ICJ, in the "Bosnian Genocide Case" concurred with the ICTY's earlier finding that the Srebrenica massacre constituted genocide:


title: Bosnian genocide

text: ICJ President Rosalyn Higgins noted that there was much evidence to prove that crimes against humanity and war crimes had been committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina such as widespread killings, the siege of towns, mass rapes, torture, deportation to camps and detention centres, but the ICJ did not have jurisdiction over them, because the case dealt "exclusively with genocide in a limited legal sense and not in the broader sense sometimes given to this term". Moreover, the Court found "that Serbia has not committed genocide" nor "conspired to" or "incited the commission of genocide". It did however, find that Serbia had failed "to take all measures within its power to prevent genocide in Srebrenica" and to comply fully with the ICTY by failing to transfer Ratko Mladić to the custody of the ICTY in the Hague and that Serbia must in future transfer to the Hague all ICTY-indicted individuals, who reside under Serbian jurisdiction.


title: Bosnian genocide

text: The Court's finding that Serbia was not directly involved in the Srebrenica genocide have been strongly criticized. Prof. Yuval Shany, Hersch Lauterpacht Professor of Public International Law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, described the Court's conclusions on the three questions before it as controversial:


title: Bosnian genocide

text: Antonio Cassese, the first president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, criticized the ICJ judgement on the ground that "The International Court has set an unrealistically high standard of proof for finding Serbia complicit in genocide." He added:


title: Bosnian genocide

text: The vice-president of the International Court of Justice, Judge Al-Khasawneh, criticized the judgement as not reflecting the evidence with respect to Serbia's direct responsibility for genocide at Srebrenica:


title: Bosnian genocide

text: The 'effective control' test for attribution established in the Nicaragua case is not suitable to questions of State responsibility for international crimes committed with a common purpose. The 'overall control' test for attribution established in the Tadić case is more appropriate when the commission of international crimes is the common objective of the controlling State and the non-State actors. The Court's refusal to infer genocidal intent from a consistent pattern of conduct in Bosnia and Herzegovina is inconsistent with the established jurisprudence of the ICTY. The FRY's knowledge of the genocide set to unfold in Srebrenica is clearly established. The Court should have treated the Scorpions as a de jure organ of the FRY. The statement by the Serbian Council of Ministers in response to the massacre of Muslim men by the Scorpions amounted to an admission of responsibility. The Court failed to appreciate the definitional complexity of the crime of genocide and to assess the facts before it accordingly.


title: Bosnian genocide

text: The International Criminal Tribunal never received a complete archive of the Supreme Defense Council minutes from Serbia. According to the explanation given by Sir Geoffrey Nice, former prosecutor in the trial of Slobodan Milošević:


title: Bosnian genocide

text: First, it is important to note that Serbia did not hand over to the Prosecution (OTP) the complete collection of SDC [Supreme Defense Council] records. For example, for the year 1995 the OTP received recordings for only about half of all the sessions held by SDC. Further, some of the SDC records were not handed over in their full stenographically recorded form but were produced as extended minutes. That means that they were shorter than steno-notes but longer than the regular minutes. The dates of the missing meetings or the meetings where this lesser form of record was provided, as I recall, were significant – namely dates leading up to, surrounding and in the aftermath of the Srebrenica massacre. The full records of those meetings need yet to be provided. At the same time, these documents, significant as they are, do not constitute a single body of evidence that will explain once and for all what happened and who was culpable. They do provide a much fuller context and provide some very valuable testimonials of things that were said by Milošević and others. In their un-redacted form they would point all who are interested (not just governments and lawyers) to other documents that have never been provided and that might well be more candid than the words of those at the SD Council meetings who knew they were being recorded by a stenographer. Second, it should also be remembered that there are other protected document collections and individual documents which were, and still are, protected by direct agreements between Belgrade and the former OTP Prosecutor, i.e. they were not protected by the Trial Chamber. These documents are difficult now to identify but if and when Bosnia-Herzegovina decides to reopen the ICJ case it will be essential to require Serbia and/or the ICTY to produce all those documents for the ICJ.


title: Bosnian genocide

text: The Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf, Germany, in September 1997, handed down a genocide conviction against Nikola Jorgić, a Bosnian Serb who was the leader of a paramilitary group located in the Doboj region. He was sentenced to four terms of life imprisonment for his involvement in genocidal actions that took place in regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, other than Srebrenica.


title: Bosnian genocide

text: In a judgement issued on 12 July 2007, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in the "Jorgić v. Germany" case (Application no. 74613/01), reviewed the German court's judgements against Jorgić. In rejecting Jorgić's appeal, the ECHR affirmed that the German court's ruling was consistent with an interpretation of the Genocide Convention foreseeable at the time Jorgić committed the offence in 1992. However, the ECHR highlighted that the German court's ruling, based upon German domestic law, had interpreted the crime of genocide more broadly than and in a manner since rejected by international courts. Under the wider definition that the German judiciary upheld, the ethnic cleansing carried out by Jorgić was a genocide because it was an intent to destroy the group as a social unit, and although the majority of scholars took the view that German genocide law should interpret genocide as the physical-biological destruction of the protected group, "a considerable number of scholars were of the opinion that the notion of destruction of a group as such, in its literal meaning, was wider than a physical-biological extermination and also encompassed the destruction of a group as a social unit".


title: Bosnian genocide

text: In the case of "Prosecutor v. Krstić" (2 August 2001), the ICTY ruled "customary international law limits the definition of genocide to those acts seeking the physical or biological destruction of all or part of the group. Hence, an enterprise attacking only the cultural or sociological characteristics of a human group in order to annihilate these elements which give to that group its own identity distinct from the rest of the community would not fall under the definition of genocide". On 19 April 2004, this determination was upheld on appeal: "The Genocide Convention, and customary international law in general, prohibit only the physical or biological destruction of a human group. ... The Trial Chamber expressly acknowledged this limitation, and eschewed any broader definition. ... " although like the lower court, the appeal court also ruled that ethnic cleansing might with other evidence lead to an inference of genocidal intent. On 14 January 2000, the ICTY ruled in the "Prosecutor v. Kupreškić and Others" case that the Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing campaign in order to expel the Bosnian Muslim population from the region was persecution, not genocide "per se". The ECHR noted the opinion of the International Court of Justice ruling in the Bosnian Genocide Case that ethnic cleansing is not in and of itself genocide.


title: Bosnian genocide

text: In reference to legal writers, the ECHR also noted: "Amongst scholars, the majority have taken the view that ethnic cleansing, in the way in which it was carried out by the Serb forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to expel Muslims and Croats from their homes, did not constitute genocide. However, there are also a considerable number of scholars who have suggested that these acts did amount to genocide".


title: Bosnian genocide

text: The ECHR having reviewed the case and the more recent international rulings on the issue the ECHR ruled that "The Court finds that the [German] courts' interpretation of 'intent to destroy a group' as not necessitating a physical destruction of the group, which has also been adopted by a number of scholars ... , is therefore covered by the wording, read in its context, of the crime of genocide in the [German] Criminal Code and does not appear unreasonable", so "In view of the foregoing, the [ECHR] concludes that, while many authorities had favoured a narrow interpretation of the crime of genocide, there had already been several authorities at the material time which had construed the offence of genocide in the same wider way as the German courts. In these circumstances, the [ECHR] finds that [Jorgić], if need be with the assistance of a lawyer, could reasonably have foreseen that he risked being charged with and convicted of genocide for the acts he had committed in 1992.", and for this reason the court rejected Jorgić's assertion that there had been a breach of Article 7 (no punishment without law) of the European Convention on Human Rights by Germany.


title: Bosnian genocide

text: On 15 January 2009, the European Parliament passed a resolution calling on the European Union's executive authorities to commemorate 11 July as a day of remembrance and mourning of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, explicitly recognized as such with reference to the ICJ decision. The resolution also reiterated a number of findings including the number of victims as "more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys" executed and "nearly 25,000 women, children and elderly people were forcibly deported, making this event the biggest war crime to take place in Europe since the end of the Second World War". The resolution passed overwhelmingly, on a vote of 556 to 9.


title: Bosnian genocide

text: About 30 people have been indicted for participating in genocide or complicity in genocide during the early 1990s in Bosnia. To date, after several plea bargains and some convictions that were successfully challenged on appeal, two men, Vujadin Popović and Ljubiša Beara, have been found guilty of genocide, and two others, Radislav Krstić and Drago Nikolić, have been found guilty of aiding and abetting genocide, by an international court for their participation in the Srebrenica massacre.


title: Bosnian genocide

text: Four have been found guilty of participating in genocides in Bosnia by German courts, one of whom, Nikola Jorgić, lost an appeal against his conviction in the European Court of Human Rights.


title: Bosnian genocide

text: On 29 July 2008, the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina found Milenko Trifunović, Brano Džinić, Aleksandar Radovanović, Miloš Stupar, Branislav Medan and Petar Mitrović guilty of genocide for their part in the Srebrenica massacre, and on 16 October 2009 the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina found Milorad Trbić, a former member of the Bosnian Serb security forces, guilty of genocide for his participation in the genocide in the Srebrenica massacre.


title: Bosnian genocide

text: Slobodan Milošević, the former President of Serbia and of Yugoslavia, was the most senior political figure to stand trial at the ICTY. He was charged with having committed genocide, either alone or in concert with other named members of a joint criminal enterprise. The indictment accused him of planning, preparing and executing the destruction, in whole or in part, of the Bosnian Muslim national, ethnical, racial or religious groups, as such, in territories within Bosnia and Herzegovina including Bijeljina, Bosanski Novi, Brčko, Ključ, Kotor Varoš, Prijedor, Sanski Most and Srebrenica. He died during his trial, on 11 March 2006, and no verdict was returned.


title: Bosnian genocide

text: The ICTY had issued a warrant for the arrest of Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić on several charges including genocide. Karadžić was arrested in Belgrade on 21 July 2008, and was transferred into ICTY custody in the Hague nine days later on 30 July. Ratko Mladić was also arrested in Serbia on 26 May 2011 after a decade in hiding.


title: Bosnian genocide

text: On 24 March 2016, Karadžić was sentenced to 40 years in prison. Finally, on 22 November 2017, Mladić was sentenced to a life in prison. Both were sentenced for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Both Karadžić and Mladić appealed their convictions. In 2019 appeals judges increased Karadžić's sentence to life in prison. A verdict in Mladić's appeal was expected in June 2021. It was rejected on 8 June with Mladic's sentence affirmed by a panel of U.N. judges in a four to one vote.


title: Bosnian genocide

text: If a narrow definition of genocide is used, as favoured by the international courts, then during the Srebrenica massacre, 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were murdered and the remainder of the population (between 25,000 and 30,000 Bosniak women, children and elderly people) was forced to leave the area. If a wider definition is used, then the number is much larger. According to the ICTY Demographic Unit, an estimated 69.8% or 25,609 of the civilians killed in the war were Bosniak (with 42,501 military deaths), with the Bosnian Serbs suffering 7,480 civilian casualties (15,299 military deaths), the Bosnian Croats suffering 1,675 civilian casualties (7,183 military deaths), amounting to a total of 104,732 casualties, spread between the Bosnian Croats (8.5%), Bosnian Serbs (21.7%), Bosniaks (65%), and others (4.8%).


title: Bosnian genocide

text: In January 2013, the Sarajevo-based Research and Documentation Center (RDC) published its final results on "the most comprehensive" research into Bosnia-Herzegovina's war casualties: "The Bosnian Book of the Dead" – a database that reveals "a minimum of" 97,207 names of Bosnia and Herzegovina's citizens killed and missing during the 1992–1995 war. The head of the ICTY Demographic Unit, Ewa Tabeu, has called it "the largest existing database on Bosnian war victims". More than 240,000 pieces of data were collected, processed, checked, compared and evaluated by an international team of experts to tabulate the names of the victims. According to the RDC, 82% or 33,071 of the civilians killed in the war were Bosniak, with a minimum of 97,207 casualties, military and civilian, for all sides involved: Bosniaks (66.2%), Serbs (25.4%) and Croats (7.8%), as well as others (0.5%).


title: Bosnian genocide

text: George Szamuely's "Bombs for Peace" estimates that the number of Muslims fleeing from Srebrenica to Tuzla in a mixed military-civilian column after the city was abandoned by order of Bosnian commanders was perhaps 12,000-15,000, and that of these, as few as 1,000 or less died as they fought their way through Serb lines.


title: Bosnian genocide

text: In addition to those known to be outright killed, around 10,500 people are still missing with unknown fates due to the Bosnian War; most of them are Bosniaks.


title: Bosnian genocide

text: In a statement on 23 September 2008 to the United Nations, Dr. Haris Silajdžić, as head of the Bosnia and Herzegovina delegation to the United Nations 63rd Session of the General Assembly, said that "according to ICRC data, 200,000 people were killed, 12,000 of them children, up to 50,000 women were raped, and 2.2 million were forced to flee their homes. This was a veritable genocide and sociocide". However, such estimations have been criticized as highly inaccurate and analysts such as George Kenney have accused the Bosnian government and the international community of sensationalism and of deliberately inflating the number of fatalities to attract international support for the Muslims.


title: Bosnian genocide

text: While the majority of international opinion accepts the findings of the international courts, there remains some disagreement about the extent of the genocide and to what degree Serbia was involved.


title: Bosnian genocide

text: The Bosnian Muslim community asserts that the Srebrenica massacre was just one instance of what was a broader genocide committed by Serbia.


title: Bosnian genocide

text: The International Court of Justice veered away from the factual and legal findings of the ICTY Appeals Chamber in the "Duško Tadić case". In the judgment delivered in July 1999, the Appeals Chamber found that the Army of Republika Srpska was "under overall control" of Belgrade and the Yugoslav Army, which meant that they had funded, equipped and assisted in the coordination and the planning of military operations. Had the International Court of Justice accepted this finding of the Tribunal, Serbia would have been found guilty of complicity in the Srebrenica genocide. Instead it concluded that the Appeals Chamber in the Tadic case "did not attempt to determine the responsibility of a state but individual criminal responsibility". Paradoxical as it may be, the outcome of this legal suit filed back in March 1993 arrived too early for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Radovan Karadžić arrest came over a year after the ICJ gave its judgement, and Ratko Mladić, also accused of genocide, was arrested in May 2011. Slobodan Milošević died during his trial and three trials of former Serb officials have just started.


title: Bosnian genocide

text: Although the ICTY prosecutors had access to them during the trials, some of the minutes of wartime meetings of Yugoslavia's political and military leaders, were not made public as the ICTY accepted the Serbian argument that to do so would damage Serbia's national security. Although the ICJ could have subpoenaed the documents directly from Serbia, it did not do so and relied instead on those made public during the ICTY trials. Two of the ICJ judges criticised this decision in strongly worded dissents. Marlise Simons reporting on this in "The New York Times", states that "When the documents were handed over [to the ICTY], the lawyers said, a team from Belgrade made it clear in letters to the tribunal and in meetings with prosecutors and judges that it wanted the documents expurgated to keep them from harming Serbia's case at the International Court of Justice. The Serbs made no secret of that even as they argued their case for 'national security,' said one of the lawyers, adding, 'The senior people here [at the ICTY] knew about this'.". Simons continues that Rosalyn Higgins the president of the ICJ, declined to comment when asked why the full records had not been subpoenaed, saying that "The ruling speaks for itself". Diane Orentlicher, a law professor at American University in Washington, commented "Why didn't the court request the full documents? The fact that they were blacked out clearly implies these passages would have made a difference.", and William Schabas, a professor of international law at the University of Ireland in Galway, suggested that as a civil rather than a criminal court, the ICJ was more used to relying on materials put before it than aggressively pursuing evidence which might lead to a diplomatic incident.


title: Bosnian genocide

text: Writers, including Edward S. Herman, believe that the Srebrenica massacre was not genocide. They cite that women and children were largely spared and that only military age men were targeted. This view is not supported by the findings of the ICJ or the ICTY.


title: Bosnian genocide

text: According to Sonja Biserko, president of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, and Edina Bećirević, the faculty of criminology and security studies of the University of Sarajevo:


title: Salt-N-Pepa

text: Salt-N-Pepa (also stylized as Salt 'N' Pepa or Salt 'N Pepa) is an American hip-hop group formed in New York City in 1985, that comprised Salt (Cheryl James), Pepa (Sandra Denton), and DJ Spinderella (Deidra Roper). Their debut album, "Hot, Cool & Vicious" (1986), sold more than 1 million copies in the US, making them the first female rap act to achieve gold and platinum status by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album included the single, "Push It", which was released in 1987 as the B-side to their single "Tramp", and peaked within the top 20 on the "Billboard" Hot 100.


title: Salt-N-Pepa

text: Salt-N-Pepa's second album "A Salt with a Deadly Pepa" (1988), was certified gold by the RIAA. The Trio's third album "Blacks' Magic" (1990), featured the singles "Expression" and "Let's Talk About Sex". In 1993, they released the album, "Very Necessary", which sold over 7 million copies worldwide (5 million of those in the U.S.), and was the highest-selling rap album by a female act (solo or group) in history at the time. The album included the hit singles "Shoop" and "Whatta Man" with En Vogue. They won the 1995 Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for their song "None of Your Business", making them one of the first female rap acts to win a Grammy Award, along with Queen Latifah, who won later during the same ceremony.


title: Salt-N-Pepa

text: Salt-N-Pepa have sold over 15 million records worldwide, making them one of the best selling rap acts of all time. Their success in rap and hip hop culture has earned them the honorific title "The First Ladies of Rap".


title: Salt-N-Pepa

text: In 1985, Queens, New York residents Cheryl James and Sandra Denton met as both were studying nursing at Queensborough Community College. The pair became close friends, and also co–workers at Sears, along with future celebrities Kid N' Play and Martin Lawrence. Another co-worker Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor was studying music production at the Center of Media Arts and had his then-girlfriend Cheryl James, and also Sandra Denton, record a song for him as a class project he had to do. This resulted in the song "The Showstopper", an answer record to Doug E. Fresh's hit single "The Show" by the duo, who originally called themselves Super Nature. The song used a melody from the 1984 film "Revenge of the Nerds". Azor passed the song along to his friend Marley Marl who hosted a weekend rap show on a New York City radio station. Marl occasionally included the song in his set rotation, and it became so popular that the station received requests to play it during Marl's weekend rap set. The song, however, was not available in stores as it was simply a music school assignment. The independent Pop Art Records stepped in an offered to give the song an official release, and "The Showstopper" became a modest R&B hit, reaching No. 46 on the US Billboard R&B chart.


title: Salt-N-Pepa

text: After finding some success with "The Showstopper", Azor, James, and Denton decided to focus on the group full-time, with Denton and James soon dropping out of nursing school. Azor changed the group's name to Salt-N-Pepa, based on the song's lyrics "Right now I'm gonna show you how it's supposed to be 'Cause we, the salt and pepper MCs", which had resulted in radio stations getting phone calls requesting "The Showstopper" by Salt And Pepper. In September 1985, the group signed to Next Plateau Records, but the label only wanted to release a single at first; James and Denton recorded "I'll Take Your Man", produced by Azor, and the label released it. The song utilized a melody from the hit single "Flash Light" by funk band Parliament. Next Plateau had now requested a full-length album, and Azor felt the group should be a female trio, similar to the male rap trio Run DMC. Before starting work on a full-length album, Azor recruited DJ Latoya Hanson (called Spinderella) into Salt-N-Pepa. The ladies worked on the album and in December 1986 the trio's debut album "Hot, Cool & Vicious" was released, produced by Azor, Salt's boyfriend at the time and the group's manager. Hansen was in the group for a few months but she and Salt were not on friendly terms and Hansen departed the group after they finished the album, but just before it was distributed to stores. Soon after, in early 1987, 16-year-old high school student Deidra Roper was recruited into the group by Azor and became known as Spinderella, the DJ in the group.


title: Salt-N-Pepa

text: "Hot, Cool & Vicious" included some moderate rap/R&B radio hits such as "The Showstopper", "My Mic Sound Nice", and "Tramp", but when San Francisco DJ and producer Cameron Paul created a remix to "Push It", the B-side of the "Tramp" single, it gave the group their first major hit. "Push It" (US #19, UK #2) became a platinum single in the United States, and a hit in several other countries, and was added to subsequent pressings of "Hot, Cool & Vicious". It was nominated for a Grammy Award, and the strength of that single catapulted the album to platinum sales in the U.S. with over 1 million copies sold, making Denton, James, and Roper the first female rap act to go platinum. The album ultimately sold 1.4 million copies worldwide.


title: Salt-N-Pepa

text: The group entered the music industry at a time when hip hop was believed to be a fad, and as major record companies were very reluctant to sign hip hop artists, many early hip hop artists recorded for independent labels. Salt-N-Pepa greatly impacted hip hop by being one of the first all-female rap groups. Concerned about sexist lyrics and video clips that objectified women's bodies in hip hop, many feminists disliked rap and hip hop because it negatively portrayed women. However, Salt-N-Pepa changed the look of hip hop. They were scantily clad in sexy clothing and were not afraid to talk about sex and their thoughts about men. Their song "Let's Talk About Sex" was a huge hit.


title: Salt-N-Pepa

text: Salt-N-Pepa's next album, "A Salt with a Deadly Pepa", was released on July 26, 1988, and contained the top 10 R&B hit "Shake Your Thang", featuring the go-go band E.U. Also, a top 20 R&B hit and a minor pop hit were seen in "Get Up Everybody (Get Up)" and "Twist and Shout", respectively; with "Twist and Shout" becoming a major hit in the UK (#4), and several European countries. The album sold 800,000 copies globally, with 500,000 of those sold in the US, obtaining gold-status in the US.


title: Salt-N-Pepa

text: The group's third album "Blacks' Magic" was released on March 19, 1990 and saw personal moments for the trio on different levels. Pepa had become the first group member to become pregnant. Azor produced some songs on the album, but as he was producing other acts, he agreed to let the group work with different producers to finish the album. Salt and Spinderella took on some producing assignments themselves, and the trio hired different producers, such as Invincible's producer Dana Mozie. This was the first album to feature Roper on vocals throughout much of the album as well as DJing. The result was six singles released by Next Plateau Records, several of which became hits: "Expression" (US #26, UK #40 in "1990", UK #23 in "1992"), a platinum single, produced by Salt; "Independent"; "I Don't Know" (featuring Kid 'n Play); "Do You Want Me" (US #21, UK #5), certified gold; "Let's Talk About Sex" (US #13, UK #2), certified gold, and later re-recorded as "Let's Talk About AIDS" for an awareness promotion; and "You Showed Me" (US #47, UK #15). The album ultimately sold 1.6 million copies worldwide with 1 million of those sold in the U.S. A greatest hits album called "A Blitz of Salt-N-Pepa Hits", featuring some remixed versions of songs from the group's first three albums later was released.


title: Salt-N-Pepa

text: Salt-N-Pepa's fourth studio album "Very Necessary" was released on October 12, 1993, on London Records. The album featured songwriting and production by Salt, Pepa, Spinderella, and Azor. Buoyed by the hits "Shoop" (U.S. #4, UK #13), co-produced by Pepa; "Whatta Man" (U.S. #3, UK #7) (featuring En Vogue); and "None of Your Business", a top 40 U.S. hit and a top 20 UK hit, "Very Necessary" eventually sold 7 million copies worldwide, with 5 million of those in the U.S. - 5× platinum status. This made them the first female rap act (solo or group) to have a multi-platinum certified album. The group toured, and Salt co-starred in the movie "Who's the Man?" and Pepa co-starred in the film "Joe's Apartment". Pepa had been romantically involved with Treach of the rap group Naughty By Nature. The trio won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 1995 for the single "None of Your Business", making them the first female rap act to win a Grammy, along with Queen Latifah who later won at the same ceremony. "Very Necessary" is the best-selling album by a female rap act.


title: Salt-N-Pepa

text: By the time of their next album release, Salt-N-Pepa had gone through the legal process of completely breaking away from Azor, whom they accused of unfair royalty payments. Salt had already stopped being romantically involved with him due to their many ups-and-downs. The trio left London Records after one album and signed with Red Ant Records, though still distributed by PolyGram Records (the label that had distributed their "Very Necessary" album on London Records) through PolyGram's Island Records label. Red Ant paid the trio a $15 million signing bonus when they signed their contracts. The group undertook production duties once again, but this time Azor was not involved in any part of the album. This would be the first and only album without any production from Azor. The result was the album "Brand New", released on October 21, 1997. However, Red Ant was having financial difficulties and filed for bankruptcy soon after the album hit stores, halting marketing and promotion on all its releases, including Salt-N-Pepa's album. The group toured in support of the album, but without any promotion from the bankrupt label, they only scored minor hits with "R U Ready" and "Gitty Up". The album was certified gold in the US for sales of 500,000 copies and sold approximately another 100,000 copies internationally. Although not as big a seller as its predecessor, it kept intact an unbroken string of gold or platinum studio albums by the trio.


title: Salt-N-Pepa

text: In March 1999, Salt-N-Pepa embarked on a tour. Pepa married Treach of Naughty by Nature on July 27 of the same year. Salt-N-Pepa's greatest-hits album, titled "The Best of Salt-N-Pepa", was released in Europe on January 25, 2000. Pepa and Treach remained married for two years, but their tumultuous marriage ended in divorce on July 31, 2001. With no albums contractually due at the time, Salt decided to quit the group, stating she had enough of the music industry and no longer wanted to be involved in it. They officially disbanded in 2002. Some time later, Salt announced that she would release a solo album, but ultimately did not do so. She was featured on the remix version of the Salt City Six's "Shine" on the album "Holy South Worldwide", a compilation of Christian rap and Christian R&P (Rhythm & Praise) songs. The album was produced by ex-Three 6 Mafia member-turned-Christian rapper Mr. Del. Salt also revealed in later interviews that she had suffered from bulimia many years ago. Pepa appeared on the fifth season of VH-1's "The Surreal Life". Spinderella became a radio personality on KKBT 100.3 in Los Angeles. She hosted "The Backspin" (with DJ Mo'Dav), a nationally syndicated weekly radio show featuring old school hip hop music. She also periodically DJs at various clubs. The trio was disbanded for a total of five years.


title: Salt-N-Pepa

text: Salt and Pepa both appeared on VH1's "Hip Hop Honors" in September 2005. All three women reunited the following year for the next "Hip Hop Honors" program and performed "Whatta Man" with En Vogue. It was the trio's first performance in six years, and was their first performance of "Whatta Man" with En Vogue on stage. Salt-N-Pepa reformed in 2007. All three women now have children. Spinderella has a daughter, with former NBA player Kenny Anderson, who has appeared on MTV's "My Super Sweet Sixteen" in 2008. Pepa has a son and a daughter, her daughter being fathered by rapper Treach. Salt has a daughter and a son with former husband Gavin Wray.


title: Salt-N-Pepa

text: On October 14, 2007, "The Salt-N-Pepa Show" debuted on VH1. Pepa had previously appeared on a different show on the network called "The Surreal Life". "The Salt-N-Pepa Show" chronicled events in the lives of Pepa and Salt as they work out past issues. Spinderella has been featured in several episodes. Later in 2008, the trio performed at the BET Hip Hop Awards. That August, Pepa released an autobiography titled "Let's Talk About Pep", co-written by Karen Hunter, which features an introduction by Queen Latifah and an epilogue by Missy Elliott. To accompany the book, she launched her own social network for fans and also starred in the reality TV series "Let's Talk About Pep" on VH1.


title: Salt-N-Pepa

text: On May 9, 2009, Salt-N-Pepa performed at the Ladies of the 80s concert in Honolulu, which also featured SWV and Lisa Lisa. They performed at the Good Vibrations Festival in Australia in February 2010, and the South West Four Festival, Clapham Common, London on August 29, 2010. On October 12, 2010, Salt-N-Pepa received the I Am Hip Hop Award at the BET Hip Hop Awards.


title: Salt-N-Pepa

text: On February 4, 2011, Salt-N-Pepa headed on a national tour titled Salt-N-Pepa's Legends of Hip Hop Tour. Other acts on the tour included Whodini, Rob Base, Kurtis Blow, Doug E Fresh, Biz Markie, Naughty By Nature, MC Lyte, Big Daddy Kane, Kool Moe Dee, Slick Rick, and Chubb Rock. On November 21, 2011, Salt-N-Pepa appeared on "The X Factor" Australia's third season with contestant and finalist Johnny Ruffo. They performed "Push It". On July 30, 2012, Salt-N-Pepa opened for rap group Public Enemy in Brooklyn, New York as part of the Martin Luther King Jr. Concert Series.


title: Salt-N-Pepa

text: The trio made a November 2014 appearance in a Geico insurance commercial performing "Push It". Salt-N-Pepa appeared on the December 18, 2015 episode of The Wendy Williams Show performing "Push It". The performance started out with Wendy Williams pretending to be the DJ, thus Spinderella ultimately assumed the duties. This was an allude to the fact that Roper, Williams, and several other women had auditioned for the part of DJ in the group back in 1987; the DJ role ultimately being won by Roper. The group's hit song "Shoop" made a comeback on February 12, 2016, as one of the theme songs featured in the blockbuster Marvel movie "Deadpool". The trio performed in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada for Westerner Days at the Enmax Centrium on July 21, 2016.


title: Salt-N-Pepa

text: In 2017–2018, the group toured as part of the I Love the 90's tour, performing in various locations, including in the UK Wembley Arena, Glasgow SSE, Liverpool Echo Arena and Birmingham. On October 16, 2018, Salt-N-Pepa appeared on the U.S. version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire", with Kid N Play serving as their "plus one" in-studio lifeline.


title: Salt-N-Pepa

text: In March 2019, it was announced that Salt-N-Pepa would have a biographical miniseries coming to the Lifetime network, highlighting the rise of the group to become one of the first successful female rap groups in hip hop. Queen Latifah, as well as Salt-N-Pepa will be executive producers of the series.


title: Salt-N-Pepa

text: On May 2, 2019, the Mixtape Tour commenced in Cincinnati, Ohio. Performers on this tour include Salt-N-Pepa, Debbie Gibson, Tiffany, and Naughty by Nature, with New Kids on the Block being billed as the headline performers. The next day, DJ Spinderella announced in an Instagram post that she had been "terminated" from Salt-N-Pepa as of January, and broke her silence after the band hadn't publicly announced their parting ways with her. DJ Cocoa Chanelle, formerly of BET Networks and HOT 97, became the replacement DJ.


title: Salt-N-Pepa

text: On January 23, 2021, Lifetime released an eponymous biopic, directed by Mario Van Peebles, which starred GG Townson as Salt, Laila Odom as Pepa, Monique Jasmine Paul as DJ Spinderella, Cleveland Berto as Herbie, Daniel Keith Morrison as MC Hammer, Denver Taylor as Martin Lawrence, Bronson Phillip Lake as Christopher "Kid" Reid, and Devante Senior as Christopher "Play" Martin. Salt-N-Pepa serve as the executive producers while Queen Latifah serves as a producer. A "Special Edition" of the film was released on January 23, 2021.


title: Salt-N-Pepa

text: On November 4, 2022, Salt-N-Pepa were honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located by the Amoeba Music store on Hollywood Boulevard. DJ Spinderella joined the induction ceremony.


title: Bindi (decoration)

text: A bindi (Hindi: बिंदी, from Sanskrit बिन्दु "bindú" meaning "point, drop, dot or small particle") or pottu () is a coloured dot or, in modern times, a sticker worn on the center of the forehead, originally by Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains from the Indian subcontinent.


title: Bindi (decoration)

text: A bindi is a bright dot of some colour applied in the centre of the forehead close to the eyebrows or in the middle of the forehead, worn in the Indian subcontinent (particularly amongst Hindus in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka) and Southeast Asia among Balinese, Filipino, Javanese, Sundanese, Malaysian, Singaporean, Vietnamese and Burmese Hindus. A similar marking is also worn by babies and children in China and, as in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, represents the opening of the third eye. Bindi in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism is associated with ajna chakra, and Bindu is known as the third eye chakra. Bindu is the point or dot around which the mandala is created, representing the universe. The bindi has a historical and cultural presence in the region of Greater India.


title: Bindi (decoration)

text: Traditionally, the area between the eyebrows (where the bindi is placed) is said to be the sixth chakra, "ajna", the seat of "concealed wisdom". The bindi is said to retain energy and strengthen concentration. The bindi also represents the third eye.


title: Bindi (decoration)

text: The Ajna is symbolised by a sacred lotus with two petals, and corresponds to the colours violet, indigo or deep blue, though it is traditionally described as white. It is at this point that the two sides Nadi Ida (yoga) and Pingala are said to terminate and merge with the central channel Sushumna, signifying the end of duality, the characteristic of being dual (e.g. "light" and "dark", or "male" and "female"). The seed syllable for this chakra is the syllable OM, and the presiding deity is Ardhanarishvara, who is a half male, half female Shiva/Shakti. The Shakti goddess of Ajna is called Hakini. In metaphysics, Bindu is considered the dot or point at which creation begins and may become unity. It is also described as "the sacred symbol of the cosmos in its unmanifested state". Bindu is the point around which the mandala is created, representing the universe. Ajna (along with Bindu), is known as the third eye chakra and is linked to the pineal gland which may inform a model of its envisioning. The pineal gland is a light sensitive gland that produces the hormone melatonin which regulates sleep and waking up, and is also postulated to be the production site of the psychedelic dimethyltryptamine, the only known hallucinogen endogenous to the human body. Ajna's key issues involve balancing the higher and lower selves and trusting inner guidance. Ajna's inner aspect relates to the access of intuition. Mentally, Ajna deals with visual consciousness. Emotionally, Ajna deals with clarity on an intuitive level.


title: Bindi (decoration)

text: In Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, bindi is associated with Ajna Chakra and Bindu. Divinities in these religions are typically depicted with "Bhrumadhya Bindu", in meditative pose with their eyes nearly closed show the gaze focused between eyebrows, other spot being the tip of the nose—Naasikagra. The very spot between the eyebrows known as Bhrumadhya is where one focuses one's sight, so that it helps concentration. In South Asia, bindi is worn by women of all religious dispositions and is not restricted to religion or region. However, the Islamic Research Foundation, located in India, says "wearing a bindi or mangalsutra is a sign of Hindu women. The traditional bindi still represents and preserves the symbolic significance that is integrated into Indian mythology in many parts of India."


title: Bindi (decoration)

text: A traditional bindi is red or maroon in colour. A pinch of vermilion powder is applied with a ring-finger to make a dot. A small annular disc aids application for beginners. First, a sticky wax paste is applied through the empty centre of the disc. This is then covered with kumkum or vermilion and then the disc is removed to get a round bindi. Various materials such as lac, sandal, 'aguru', mica, 'kasturi', kumkum (made of red turmeric) and sindoor color the dot. Saffron ground together with 'kusumba' flower can also work. Traditionally they are green in color with a red dot in the middle. The bindi is no longer restricted in color or shape.


title: Bindi (decoration)

text: Historically, the ornamental bindi spangle consists of a small piece of lac over which is smeared vermilion, while above it a piece of mica or thin glass is fixed for ornament. Women wore large spangles set in gold with a border of jewels if they could afford it. The bindi was made and sold by lac workers known as Lakhera. In Hinduism, it's part of the "Suhāg" or "lucky trousseau" at marriages and is affixed to the girl's forehead on her wedding and thereafter always worn. Unmarried girls optionally wore small ornamental spangles on their foreheads. A widow was not allowed to wear bindi or any ornamentation associated with married women. In modern times, self-adhesive bindis are available in various materials, usually made of felt or thin metal and adhesive on the other side. These are simple to apply, disposable substitutes for older lac tikli bindis. Sticker bindis come in many colours, designs, materials, and sizes.


title: Bindi (decoration)

text: There are different regional variations of the bindi. In Maharashtra a large crescent moon shaped bindi is worn with a smaller black dot underneath or above, associated with "Chandrabindu" and "Bindu chakra" represented by crescent moon, they are commonly known as "Chandrakor" in this region, outside Maharashtra they are popularly known as "Marathi bindi". In Bengal region a large round red bindi is worn, brides in this region are often decorated with "Alpana" design on forehead and cheeks, along with bindi. In southern India a smaller red bindi is worn with a white tilak at the bottom, another common type is a red tilak shaped bindi. In Rajasthan the bindi is often worn round, long tilak shaped bindi are also common, as well as the crescent moon on some occasions. Decorative bindis have become popular among women in South Asia, regardless of religious background. Bindis are a staple and symbolic for women in the Indian subcontinent.


title: Bindi (decoration)

text: In addition to the bindi, in India, a vermilion mark in the parting of the hair just above the forehead is worn by married women as commitment to long-life and well-being of their husbands. During all Hindu marriage ceremonies, the groom applies sindoor in the part in the bride's hair.


title: Bindi (decoration)

text: Apart from their cosmetic use, bindis have found a modern medical application in India. Iodine patch bindis have often been used among women in north-west Maharashtra to battle iodine deficiency.


title: Bindi (decoration)

text: In Southeast Asia, bindis are worn by the Balinese, Javanese, and Sundanese people of Indonesia. For example, bindis are often worn by brides and grooms in Java and other parts of Indonesia, regardless of their religious beliefs.


title: Bindi (decoration)

text: The Indonesian practice of wearing a bindi originated from the cultural influence brought about by the Indianized Hindu kingdoms that once ruled Indonesia. Historically, other Indianized kingdoms in Southeast Asia also took part in this practice.


title: Bindi (decoration)

text: Bindis are popular outside the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia as well. They are sometimes worn purely for decorative purpose or style statement without any religious or cultural affiliation. Decorative and ornamental bindis were introduced to other parts of the world by immigrants from the Indian subcontinent. International celebrities such as Gwen Stefani, Julia Roberts, Madonna, Selena Gomez and many others have been seen wearing bindis. The appropriateness of such uses has been disputed. Reacting to Gomez wearing a bindi while singing her song "Come and Get It", Hindu leader Rajan Zed said that the bindi has religious significance and should not be used as a fashion accessory, but Indian actress Priyanka Chopra praised Gomez's choice as "an embrace of Indian culture". Additionally, several rappers have adopted jewelled bindis, most notably Lil Uzi Vert, who debuted a $24 million pink diamond bindi in February 2021. They were inspired by Lil B who wore a diamond bindi in 2012.


title: Bindi (decoration)

text: Bindis are part of Bangladeshi culture and women in Bangladesh, irrespective of their religion, adorn themselves with bindis as an ethnic practice. In Pakistan, bindis are worn by some Muslim girls during Eid, though they are ordinarily worn by Hindu women in the Punjab and Sindh.


title: Mole (animal)

text: Moles are small mammals adapted to a subterranean lifestyle. They have cylindrical bodies, velvety fur, very small, inconspicuous eyes and ears, reduced hindlimbs, and short, powerful forelimbs with large paws adapted for digging.


title: Mole (animal)

text: The word “mole” refers to any species in the family Talpidae, which means “mole” in Latin. Moles are found in most parts of North America, Europe and Asia.


title: Mole (animal)

text: Moles may be viewed as pests to gardeners, but they provide positive contributions to soil, gardens, and ecosystem, including soil aeration, feeding on slugs and small creatures that eat plant roots, and providing prey for other wildlife. They eat earthworms and other small invertebrates in the soil.


title: Mole (animal)

text: In Middle English, moles were known as "moldwarp". The expression "don't make a mountain out of a molehill" (which means "exaggerating problems") was first recorded in Tudor times. By the era of Early Modern English, the mole was also known in English as "mouldywarp", a word having cognates in other Germanic languages such as German ("Maulwurf"), and Danish, Norwegian, Swedish and Icelandic ("muldvarp", "moldvarp", "mullvad", "moldvarpa"), where "muld/mull/mold" refers to soil and "varp/vad/varpa" refers to throwing, hence "one who throws soil" or "dirt-tosser".


title: Mole (animal)

text: Moles have been found to tolerate higher levels of carbon dioxide than other mammals, because their blood cells have a special form of hemoglobin that has a higher affinity to oxygen than other forms. In addition, moles use oxygen more effectively by reusing the exhaled air, and can survive in low-oxygen environments such as burrows.


title: Mole (animal)

text: Moles have polydactyl forepaws; each has an extra thumb (also known as a prepollex) next to the regular thumb. While the mole's other digits have multiple joints, the prepollex has a single, sickle-shaped bone that develops later and differently from the other fingers during embryogenesis from a transformed sesamoid bone in the wrist, independently evolved but similar to the giant panda thumb. This supernumerary digit is species-specific, as it is not present in shrews, the mole's closest relatives. Androgenic steroids are known to affect the growth and formation of bones, and a connection is possible between this species-specific trait and the "male" genital apparatus in female moles of many mole species (gonads with testicular and ovary tissues).


title: Mole (animal)

text: Moles are omnivores, but their diet does primarily consist of earthworms and other small invertebrates found in the soil. The mole runs are in reality "worm traps", the mole sensing when a worm falls into the tunnel and quickly running along to kill and eat it. Because their saliva contains a toxin that can paralyze earthworms, moles are able to store their still-living prey for later consumption. They construct special underground "larders" for just this purpose; researchers have discovered such larders with over a thousand earthworms in them. Before eating earthworms, moles pull them between their squeezed paws to force the collected earth and dirt out of the worm's gut.


title: Mole (animal)

text: Breeding season for a mole depends on species, but is generally from February through to May. Males search for females by letting out high-pitched squeals and tunneling through foreign areas.


title: Mole (animal)

text: The gestation period of the Eastern (North America) mole (Scalopus aquaticus) is approximately 42 days. Three to five young are born, mainly in March and early April.


title: Mole (animal)

text: Townsend moles mate in February and March, and the 2–4 young are born in March and April after a gestation period of about 1 month. The Townsend mole is endangered in the United States and Canada.


title: Mole (animal)

text: Pups leave the nest 33 days after birth to find territories of their own. They disperse from their mother’s range around 5–6 weeks and they become sexually mature during the spring following their birth.


title: Mole (animal)

text: Allegedly moles are solitary creatures, coming together only to mate. Territories may overlap, but moles avoid each other and males may fight fiercely if they meet.


title: Mole (animal)

text: The family Talpidae contains all the true moles and some of their close relatives. Those species called "shrew moles" represent an intermediate form between the moles and their shrew ancestors, and as such may not be fully described by the article.


title: Mole (animal)

text: On the other hand, there is no monophyletic relation between the mole and the hedgehog, both of which were previously placed in the now-abandoned order Insectivora. As a result, Eulipotyphla (shrew-like animals, including moles), previously within Insectivora, has been elevated to the level of an order.


title: Mole (animal)

text: While many groups of burrowing animals (pink fairy armadillos, tuco-tucos, mole rats, mole crickets, and mole crabs) have developed close physical similarities with moles due to convergent evolution, two of these are so similar to true moles, they are commonly called and thought of as "moles" in common English, although they are completely unrelated to true moles or to each other. These are the golden moles of southern Africa and the marsupial moles of Australia. While difficult to distinguish from each other, they are most easily distinguished from true moles by shovel-like patches on their noses, which they use in tandem with their abbreviated forepaws to swim through sandy soils.


title: Mole (animal)

text: The golden moles belong to the same branch on the phylogenetic tree as the tenrecs, called Tenrecomorpha, which, in turn, stem from a main branch of placental mammals called the Afrosoricida. This means that they share a closer common ancestor with such existing afrosoricids as elephants, manatees and aardvarks than they do with other placental mammals, such as true Talpidae moles.


title: Mole (animal)

text: As marsupials, these moles are even more distantly related to true talpid moles than golden moles are, both of which belong to the Eutheria, or placental mammals. This means that they are more closely related to such existing Australian marsupials as kangaroos or koalas, and even to a lesser extent to American marsupials, such as opossums, than they are to placental mammals, such as golden or Talpidae moles.


title: Mole (animal)

text: Moles' pelts have a velvety texture not found in surface animals. Surface-dwelling animals tend to have longer fur with a natural tendency for the nap to lie in a particular direction, but to facilitate their burrowing lifestyle, mole pelts are short and very dense and have no particular direction to the nap. This makes it easy for moles to move backwards underground, as their fur is not "brushed the wrong way". The leather is extremely soft and supple. Queen Alexandra, the wife of Edward VII of the United Kingdom, ordered a mole-fur garment to start a fashion that would create a demand for mole fur, thereby turning what had been a serious pest problem in Scotland into a lucrative industry for the country. Hundreds of pelts are cut into rectangles and sewn together to make a coat. The natural color is taupe, (derived from the French noun "taupe" meaning mole) but it is readily dyed any color.


title: Mole (animal)

text: Moles are considered agricultural pests in some countries, while in others, such as Germany, they are a protected species, but may be killed with a permit. Problems cited as caused by moles include contamination of silage with soil particles, making it unpalatable to livestock, the covering of pasture with fresh soil reducing its size and yield, damage to agricultural machinery by the exposure of stones, damage to young plants through disturbance of the soil, weed invasion of pasture through exposure of freshly tilled soil, and damage to drainage systems and watercourses. Other species such as weasels and voles may use mole tunnels to gain access to enclosed areas or plant roots.


title: Mole (animal)

text: Moles burrow and raise molehills, killing parts of lawns. They can undermine plant roots, indirectly causing damage or death. Moles do not eat plant roots.


title: Mole (animal)

text: Moles are controlled with traps such as mole-catchers, smoke bombs, and poisons such as calcium carbide, which produces acetylene gas to drive moles away. Strychnine was also used for this purpose in the past. The most common method now is Phostoxin or Talunex tablets. They contain aluminium phosphide and are inserted in the mole tunnels, where they turn into phosphine gas (not be confused with phosgene gas). More recently, high-grade nitrogen gas has proven effective at killing moles, with the added advantage of having no polluting effect to the environment.


title: Mole (animal)

text: Other common defensive measures include cat litter and blood meal, to repel the mole, or smoking its burrow. Devices are also sold to trap the mole in its burrow, when one sees the "mole hill" moving and therefore knows where the animal is, and then stabbing it.


title: Mole (animal)

text: Other humane options are also possible including humane traps that capture the mole alive so it may be transported elsewhere. In many contexts including ordinary gardens, the damage caused by moles to lawns is mostly visual, and it is possible instead of extermination to simply remove the earth of the molehills as they appear, leaving their permanent galleries for the moles to continue their existence underground. However, when the tunnels are near the surface in soft ground or after heavy rain, they may collapse, leaving (small) unsightly furrows in the lawn.


title: Mole (animal)

text: According to the first prophecy of the 'Six Kings to follow King John', written about 1312, the six kings could be likened to animals. The sixth king after John would be the Mouldwarp or Mole, who would be proud, contemptible and cowardly, having a skin like a goat. The prophecy gained popularity during the 14th century and was used by the enemies of Henry IV alluded to by Shakespeare in Henry IV, Part 1. It was again used during the disturbances leading to the Pilgrimage of Grace 1535-7 but this time was applied by the rebels to Henry VIII.


title: B.J. Penn

text: Jay Dee "B.J." Penn III (born December 13, 1978) is an American former professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. Penn competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and in K-1. Penn was the first American Gold medalist of the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship. In mixed martial arts, Penn has competed in the Featherweight, Lightweight, Welterweight, Middleweight, and Heavyweight/Openweight divisions. A former UFC Lightweight Champion and UFC Welterweight Champion, he is the second of seven fighters in UFC history to win titles in multiple weight classes. Penn fought to a draw against Caol Uno in the UFC 41 Lightweight Tournament. Through his tenures as champion, Penn unofficially unified the UFC Lightweight Championship (against Sean Sherk) and broke the all-time lightweight title defense record. In 2015, Penn was made the inaugural inductee into the Modern-era wing of the UFC Hall of Fame.


title: B.J. Penn

text: Penn was considered one of the top pound-for-pound mixed martial artists in the world early in his career and holds victories over opponents such as Din Thomas, Caol Uno, Paul Creighton, and Matt Serra. Penn won the Rumble on the Rock Lightweight Championship in K-1. He submitted long-reigning then-champion Matt Hughes to capture the UFC Welterweight Championship.


title: B.J. Penn

text: Following a period in which Penn competed exclusively for K-1, he returned to the UFC and won the UFC Lightweight Championship. He made a record three subsequent title defenses before losing his title to Frankie Edgar.


title: B.J. Penn

text: UFC President, Dana White, credits Penn with bringing the lower weight divisions into the mainstream of mixed martial arts; he describes Penn as "the first crossover pay-per-view star for the Ultimate Fighting Championship's lighter weight divisions", as well as saying that "[through his] accomplishments, B.J. Penn built the 155-pound division".


title: B.J. Penn

text: Penn announced his candidacy for governor of Hawaii in the 2022 Hawaii gubernatorial election in 2021. During a meeting at the Hawaii State Department of Education building multiple board members and acting superintendent Keith Hayashi, were told by Penn, “You’re all gonna be gone when I’m governor!”


title: B.J. Penn

text: Penn is regarded as one of the best competitors in the UFC's history. However, he has been criticized for continuing to fight past his prime, including an eight fight winless streak from 2011 to 2019.


title: B.J. Penn

text: Penn was born in Hawaii to Jay Dee Penn, who is of Irish American descent, and Lorraine Shin, who is of Korean and Hawaiian descent. At the age of 17, Penn began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu after being introduced to it by his neighbor, Tom Callos. Callos had put up fliers in local gyms looking for people to train with, and B.J.'s father Jay Dee Penn had called Callos and said his boys were interested. Callos then taught B.J. and his brother what he knew. Shortly thereafter, B.J. moved to San Jose, California, to begin training at the Ralph Gracie BJJ academy with Dave Camarillo, with whom he lived and became close friends. It was here during his time in San Jose that he decided to pursue a martial arts career.


title: B.J. Penn

text: In 1997 Penn began training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Ralph Gracie, eventually earning his purple belt from Gracie. At that point he moved to Nova União, where he was eventually awarded his black belt in 2000 by André Pederneiras. A few weeks later, he became the first non-Brazilian to win in the black-belt division of the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. While Penn's most well-known and prestigious achievement was placing first in the black belt division in the 2000 world championships, he had success at the Mundials in previous years. In 1999, at the age of 20, Penn finished 3rd, earning himself a bronze medal in the brown belt division, losing only to Fernando "Tererê" Augusto, and in 1998, earned a silver medal, placing 2nd in the blue belt division. Penn is thought to have earned the fastest legitimate black belt of all active Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners.


title: B.J. Penn

text: His accomplishments in the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship caught the attention of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, which convinced him to switch to mixed martial arts. Penn made his mixed martial arts debut with the company on May 24, 2001, with a win over Joey Gilbert at UFC 31. He then demonstrated strong striking skills, knocking out lightweights Din Thomas and Caol Uno before suffering a decision loss in a championship fight against UFC Lightweight Champion, Jens Pulver. In 2003, after Pulver left the UFC and relinquished his title, a tournament to crown a new champion flopped when Penn fought Uno to a draw in the finals at UFC 41, a failure which caused the UFC to later suspend its lightweight division. Penn bounced back later in the year with a victory over future PRIDE Lightweight Champion Takanori Gomi to earn his first MMA championship, the Rumble on the Rock Lightweight Championship, in K-1 Fighting Network's Rumble on the Rock, an MMA organization promoted by Penn's brother, and Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG), the parent company of the largest kickboxing organization, K-1.


title: B.J. Penn

text: Penn received his first UFC Championship in 2004 at UFC 46. Penn jumped up in weight classes to challenge the five-time defending UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes to fill a title contention slot in a division where Hughes had already defeated all the available opposition. Heavily favored to win, Hughes lost the fight four minutes into the first round by rear naked choke after giving up his back with only 23 seconds left in the round, in a bout which remains as one of the biggest upsets, as well as one of the greatest submission victories in mixed martial arts history.


title: B.J. Penn

text: Penn signed to fight for the Japanese Fighting and Entertainment Group's (FEG) "K-1" promotion citing a lack of challenging fights left for him in the UFC. The UFC promptly stripped him of the welterweight title, claiming Penn breached his contract and that the signing constituted as him refusing to defend his title. Penn filed a suit against the UFC and publicized his side of the conflict, claiming his UFC contract had already expired. Penn filed a motion to stop the UFC from awarding a new welterweight title, but that motion was denied.


title: B.J. Penn

text: In his second fight for FEG, Penn fought again at welterweight and defeated Duane Ludwig at the 2004 K-1 MMA Romanex show in under five minutes by arm triangle choke. Following the Ludwig fight, Penn moved up in weight class to face the undefeated Rodrigo Gracie at middleweight. Penn won by decision, extending his winning streak to four fights. On March 26, 2005, at the inaugural event of FEG's new MMA promotion Hero's, Penn faced future UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida, losing by unanimous decision at K-1 Hero's 1. The fight happened at an open weight class with Penn weighing in at and Machida weighing in at . Later that year at K-1 World Grand Prix Hawaii, Penn returned to middleweight to face Pride Fighting Championship veteran Renzo Gracie, which he won by unanimous decision.


title: B.J. Penn

text: In early 2006 at "UFC 56", UFC president Dana White announced that Penn and the UFC had agreed to a settlement and Penn was to return as a top welterweight contender. Penn re-debuted on March 4 at UFC 58, losing to Georges St-Pierre by split decision in a fight that determined the number one welterweight contender. Although St. Pierre was declared the winner after a three-round decision, some believed that Penn had done enough to earn himself the victory, causing noticeably more damage throughout the fight, as Joe Rogan described St-Pierre's face being "a bloody mess" while B.J. Penn "barely having a scratch on him." Despite having lost the bout, Penn's performance against Georges St-Pierre, is considered to be one of the best put forth against the future UFC Champion.


title: B.J. Penn

text: After new top contender St. Pierre injured himself during training, the UFC announced that Penn would replace St. Pierre in an upcoming title fight, setting up a highly anticipated rematch with Hughes at UFC 63 on September 23, 2006. In the bout, Penn controlled the first two rounds, but sustained a rib injury during the scramble to take Hughes' back in round two. He was visibly different in the third round, appearing exhausted and missing punches he was landing earlier. Hughes was able to take Penn to the mat, and in side control crucifix position rained punches on Penn's head until referee "Big" John McCarthy stopped the fight at 3:53 of the third round, making this the first time that Penn had been stopped in a fight. In an interview found on Penn's personal website, Penn stated that by round three he could hardly breathe and had no "mobility in his core." Despite the injury, Penn congratulated Hughes, calling him a great fighter and saying he deserved the victory.


title: B.J. Penn

text: Penn was a coach for The Ultimate Fighter 5, which debuted on April 5, 2007. Penn lead a team of eight lightweight fighters, and fought a rematch against Jens Pulver at The Ultimate Fighter 5#The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale on June 23, 2007. He won with a rear naked choke in the second round after controlling Pulver from the mount and then taking Pulver's back. Although he held the choke for a moment after Pulver tapped out, the two then embraced, with both later saying they no longer held any ill will against each other.


title: B.J. Penn

text: On July 7, 2007, during the post-fight press conference of UFC 73, UFC president Dana White announced that Penn would stay at lightweight to fight current UFC Lightweight Champion Sean Sherk. However, Sean Sherk subsequently was suspended by the California State Athletic Commission, and the status of the possible title fight was left in limbo as he pursued his appeals. With Sherk's title status still in limbo after months of hearings, the UFC scheduled Penn to fight Joe Stevenson at "UFC 80" on January 19, 2008, for an interim lightweight title. The subsequent final decision by the California State Athletic Commission, which did not overturn Sherk's suspension, led to the title being stripped from Sherk and the Penn-Stevenson fight being upgraded to a full title bout, with the winner facing Sherk in their first defense.


title: B.J. Penn

text: Penn knocked Stevenson down seconds into the first round with a right uppercut, then took Stevenson down, delivering a well placed elbow from the top position that inflicted a serious cut near Stevenson's hairline. In the second round, Stevenson fought more aggressively but was still unable to threaten Penn. Penn worked to back mount and defeated him by rear naked choke at 4:02 of the second round to win the Lightweight Championship. He celebrated the win by licking Joe Stevenson's blood off of his gloves. The win for Penn was awarded Beatdown of the Year by Sherdog for 2008. With this win, Penn became the second man (after Randy Couture) to win UFC titles in two different weight classes.


title: B.J. Penn

text: On May 24, 2008, at UFC 84 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, Penn fought former champion Sean Sherk in his first title defense bout. The fight was billed by color commentator Mike Goldberg as the "biggest fight in the history of the UFC lightweight division". Sherk attempted to take Penn down only once (in the first round), instead the fighters traded punches and leg kicks for the remainder of the fight. Penn landed jabs several times, utilizing his reach advantage over Sherk. In the closing seconds of the third round, Penn threw a punch and a hook that backed Sherk into the cage. Sherk then ducked under another punch – possibly to shoot for a takedown – when he was hit in the head by a flush flying left knee from Penn. Sherk went down and Penn continued with strikes, but the round ended before the referee stopped the fight. However, Sherk was unable to continue and Penn was declared the victor by TKO (strikes). After the fight, in response a question by Joe Rogan about his future, Penn asked the crowd if they wanted to see him fight Georges St-Pierre and was answered with a loud ovation. Later, Penn told Fighters Club TV that he would face the winner of the UFC 87 Welterweight title fight between Georges St-Pierre and Jon Fitch, which St-Pierre ended up winning by unanimous decision. St-Pierre's victory led to the scheduling of B.J.'s next fight as a Welterweight Championship fight.


title: B.J. Penn

text: Penn challenged Georges St-Pierre for St-Pierre's welterweight title on January 31, 2009, the night before the Super Bowl. The date led "UFC 94" to be billed as the "UFC Super Bowl Weekend," and it was anticipated to be the biggest UFC pay-per-view event ever. Before the fight with St-Pierre, Penn made a controversial comment that he was going to try to kill St-Pierre in the ring, but he later explained that he was speaking figuratively.


title: B.J. Penn

text: The first round of the fight was somewhat even, with Penn exercising elusive head movement, fast hands and good take-down defense, thwarting all of St-Pierre's take-down attempts while both exchanged punches. In the ensuing three rounds, however, Penn turned out a lackluster performance. St-Pierre scored his first take-down of the night midway through the second round, and by the end of the round Penn was visibly tired. At the start of round three, St-Pierre landed a "superman punch" that bloodied Penn's nose and shortly took Penn down again. From that point on, St-Pierre took Penn down almost at will, repeatedly passed Penn's renowned guard, and persistently punished the Hawaiian with a ground-and-pound attack. Penn later admitted that he could not recall anything that happened during the 3rd and 4th rounds because "I was probably borderline knocked out or something." At the end of the fourth round, after more of St-Pierre's ground-and-pound onslaught, and upon B.J.'s command, Penn's brother requested that the referee stop the fight. After the fight, Penn failed to attend the post-fight press conference due to having stayed in the hospital.


title: B.J. Penn

text: A controversy arose during the fight as St-Pierre's corner-men were spotted rubbing St-Pierre's back immediately after applying Vaseline to his face. Members of the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) came into the octagon and wiped St-Pierre's torso down. Penn later sent a formal request to the NSAC, asking them to investigate. Despite all of the complaints by the Penn camp, the NSAC ruled that there was no infraction. This incident was famously coined by Penn fans as the "Greasegate" and remains as one of the biggest controversial moments in UFC history.


title: B.J. Penn

text: The rules of the UFC were modified so that only the official "cut men" would be allowed to have or apply Vaseline to the fighters. The procedures governing the transition from the fighters walk-in to the cage and while in the cage were also changed. Previously, fighters would walk up next to the cage, see the cut man who would apply Vaseline, be checked by the referee, and then have an opportunity to speak with or hug their coaches or cornermen before entering the cage. To prevent an opportunity for the fighters to have Vaseline applied illicitly, fighters now must first part from any company, have Vaseline applied by the cut man, be checked by the referee, and then go directly to the cage. Finally, no cornermen will be allowed to have Vaseline in the cage between rounds. In this way, the fighter's contact with Vaseline is fully controlled by the cut men and referee, who work independently of the UFC.


title: B.J. Penn

text: UFC President Dana White said that the incident had no effect on the outcome of the fight although he wished the incident had not happened. Penn did, after all, quit after the fourth round. In his first post-fight interview Penn spoke of his belief that if St-Pierre were found to have been "greased" he would lose all respect for him, while admitting that "[I] definitely got my butt kicked." Penn claims that before the match he warned the NSAC that St-Pierre might use grease intentionally. St-Pierre responded to the allegations by offering to fight a rematch against Penn. Penn went on record as accepting the offer for a re-match. Following his informal acceptance of a proposed second rematch, Penn filed a formal complaint with Nevada State Athletic Commission seeking to prevent St-Pierre from fighting by suspending St-Pierre's fighter's license. In addition, Penn unsuccessfully requested the suspension of St-Pierre's cornermen, Greg Jackson and Phil Nurse, a fine of $250,000, and overturning the result of the fight to a no-contest.


title: B.J. Penn

text: Penn began negotiations to fight Kenny Florian in the summer of 2009. The Florian-Penn title fight was scheduled for "UFC 99", but B.J. Penn requested more time off after his fight with GSP. He defended his title against Florian on August 8, 2009, at "UFC 101". Penn looked noticeably in better physical shape than his previous outings at 155 lbs and negated any sort of takedown offense from Florian the entire match despite his opponent's persistence in grappling and engaging the clinch.


title: B.J. Penn

text: On his feet, Penn avoided virtually any damage, constantly stuffing or evading any attempts of a left high kick, punches, or elbows from Florian when the two departed from the clinch. In a measured performance, Penn preferred to pace himself in his standup, occasionally showing explosive bursts of striking up until the fourth round, where he executed a powerful takedown and quickly assumed the half guard position, punishing the contender with elbows until gaining the full mount, where punches followed to continue the ground and pound assault from the BJJ specialist.


title: B.J. Penn

text: A scramble ensued, where Florian gave up his back twice but was unable to escape Penn's mount, the second time Penn took his opponent's back, he looked to trap Florian's arm with one of his legs, but was unable to do so, instead striking the liver of Florian with his heel, which eventually led Penn to secure a rear naked choke at 3:45 of the fourth round to defend his lightweight championship title.


title: B.J. Penn

text: Penn fought Diego Sanchez for the UFC Lightweight Championship on December 12, 2009, at "UFC 107". Penn negated virtually any offense from the contender, exercising good footwork and elusive head movement whilst remaining flawless in his takedown defense on 27 attempts from Sanchez. He stalked his opponent for large periods of the match and stunned Sanchez early, dropping him; following up with multiple clean shots, which Sanchez showed good durability in weathering. Penn, showing good conditioning for the duration of the bout, continued to stuff all takedowns, punches and left high kicks from Sanchez and dominated with aggressive bursts of striking throughout. He hurt Sanchez several times, until finally rocking him with a flurry in the final round, swarming to finish the combo with a right high kick. The kick opened up a huge cut on Sanchez's forehead above his left eye, causing the fight to be halted on doctor's advice at 2:47 of the fifth round with a TKO. The victory marked only the second fight in UFC history to end in the fifth round, and also earned Penn the distinction of being the only man to have stopped Sanchez.


title: B.J. Penn

text: The performance marked the third time Penn had successfully finished a fight in defending his UFC Lightweight Championship, setting a new record of lightweight title defenses, by breaking the previous record of two defenses by Jens Pulver. Later during the post-fight press conference UFC President Dana White told the media he was proud of Penn's willingness to take MMA more seriously in his training when earlier he felt Penn had coasted through the UFC solely on natural talent.


title: B.J. Penn

text: Penn's next defense was on April 10, 2010, at "UFC 112" against Frankie Edgar. Despite being an overwhelming favorite coming into the fight, Penn lost the closely contested bout by unanimous decision; breaking his eight-year undefeated streak in the lightweight division. 8 of 9 media outlets scored the bout in favor of Penn. After the fight, Penn congratulated Edgar on winning the belt. Despite this, the results garnered much criticism as many disagreed with the judges decision after the five round fight, having believed that Penn had done enough to earn himself the victory. Due to the controversy surrounding the outcome, an immediate rematch with Edgar was scheduled as his first title defense.


title: B.J. Penn

text: Penn fought Edgar in a rematch at "UFC 118". Edgar was able to negate his ground offense and control the fight with good movement and striking combinations. All three judges scored the fight 50–45 for Edgar.


title: B.J. Penn

text: Penn fought Matt Hughes at UFC 123 in a rubber match after their previous two fights at UFC 46 and UFC 63. Penn defeated Hughes in 21 seconds of the first round by knockout after flooring Hughes with a right hand and following with additional strikes on the mat. Penn earned knockout of the night honors for his performance.


title: B.J. Penn

text: Following the UFC 123 post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White said that Penn would fight top welterweight contender Jon Fitch at UFC 127 in Australia. Penn trained with Matt Hughes and Floyd Mayweather Sr. in preparation for the fight. Penn surprised Fitch by taking him to the ground instead of using his stand up skills. The fight ended in a draw, snapping Fitch's five fight UFC win streak, and Penn stated that he would gladly have a rematch in the future. UFC matchmaker Joe Silva stated that neither the fans nor the UFC are interested in a Penn-Fitch rematch.


title: B.J. Penn

text: Penn was expected to face Carlos Condit on October 29, 2011, at UFC 137. B.J. Penn relocated his camp to Southern California in an effort to prepare for the bout. Penn was joined in California by former UFC middleweight and Ultimate Fighter winner Kendall Grove and B.J.'s brother Reagan Penn, as they both prepared for their August 27 fights on the ProElite show in Hawaii. However, on September 7, Condit was pulled from the bout and replaced Nick Diaz in the main event against Georges St-Pierre. Dana White stated that Penn will fight Nick Diaz in the main event at UFC 137 after GSP pulled out due to knee injury. Penn lost via unanimous decision after winning the first round by crisp boxing as well as mixing in a takedown against the former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion, but was unable to mount any significant offense or defense against Diaz's stand-up attack in the remaining two rounds.


title: B.J. Penn

text: Immediately following the loss to Diaz, Penn announced his plans to retire, saying into the microphone, "Joe, this was probably the last time you'll see me in here. I can't keep performing at the top level. That's it Joe. I got a daughter and another daughter on the way, I don't want to go home looking like this. I'm done." On November 1, Penn posted a message to fans on his website indicating that he plans to take some time off, but the retirement decision is not yet official. He said, "I want to thank all the fans for their love and support. I have decided to take some time off to enjoy life, train and teach. I will keep you guys posted with what’s next." A few months afterwards, B.J. tweeted angrily at both Jon Fitch and Nick Diaz, causing many to believe that Penn would be returning from his retirement within the near future. His manager has stated that the old B.J. is back and could be returning to MMA. In April 2012 UFC president Dana White said B.J. Penn turned down a fight with the reigning Strikeforce Lightweight Champion, Gilbert Melendez, and that Penn wants to continue at 170 pounds "whenever he is ready". White also said he feels that B.J. Penn deserves to be in the UFC Hall of Fame, stating that he was a pioneer for the lightweight division, at a time when many believed that there couldn't be any stars at 155 pounds.


title: B.J. Penn

text: Several months after declaring his retirement from mixed martial arts, B.J. Penn announced that he would be returning to the octagon after repeated challenges made by welterweight prospect Rory MacDonald; stating, "Rory, I accept your challenge!". Initially, Penn was expected to face Rory MacDonald on September 22, 2012, at UFC 152. However, MacDonald pulled out of the bout after sustaining a cut to the forehead while training. Penn vs. MacDonald eventually took place on December 8, 2012, at UFC on Fox 5. Penn lost the fight via unanimous decision. After the fight Dana White stated that he'd like to see B.J. Penn retire from mixed martial arts, although Penn has hinted a desire to return to the UFC's lightweight division. Following months of silence regarding his future, Penn spoke with Ariel Helwani in an interview for UFC on Fox, where he admitted that he was still undecided on his future, telling him that "at this moment, my guess is probably a little better than yours, but I don't know, I'm enjoying what I'm doing."


title: B.J. Penn

text: An announcement was made on "UFC Tonight" in September 2013 that Penn will return from his hiatus and move to the Featherweight division to coach against rival, Frankie Edgar for the 19th season of "The Ultimate Fighter". This move marked Penn's second appearance serving as a head coach for The Ultimate Fighter, his first being "The Ultimate Fighter 5", opposite Jens Pulver. The season aired on "Fox Sports 1" and featured middleweight and light heavyweight contestants. The two coaches faced each other for the third time on July 6, 2014, at .


title: B.J. Penn

text: Penn returned to Nova União under coach André Pederneiras (who promoted Penn to black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 1999) in preparation for his fight camp against Edgar; training alongside former UFC Bantamweight Champion Renan Barão and UFC Featherweight Champion José Aldo. Later in the camp, he also enlisted former UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz in Hilo, Hawaii for his preparation. Penn lost the one sided bout by TKO in the third round. At the conclusion of the bout, Penn announced his intentions to retire again during the event's post-fight press conference.


title: B.J. Penn

text: In January 2016, after an 18-month hiatus, the 37 year old Penn announced his intentions to return to active competition with plans to continue in the UFC's featherweight division. He was briefly expected to return in April 2016 at UFC 197. However, Penn's return was delayed after an investigation into criminal allegations made against him was launched. In turn, Penn was expected to face Dennis Siver on June 4, 2016, at UFC 199. However, Siver was forced out of the bout in early May with an undisclosed injury. He was replaced by Cole Miller. Subsequently, Penn himself was removed from the card on May 23 after he was flagged for the use of a medically administered IV during a non-fight period, when the use of IV had been recently banned 365 days a year.


title: B.J. Penn

text: Penn was expected to face Ricardo Lamas on October 15, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 97. However, on October 4, Penn pulled out of the fight citing an injury. In turn, the promotion announced on October 6 that they had cancelled the event entirely.


title: B.J. Penn

text: After three delays in getting his return fight scheduled, Penn returned to the UFC in early 2017. He faced Yair Rodríguez in the main event on January 15, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 103. Penn lost the one-sided fight via TKO in the second round.


title: B.J. Penn

text: A rescheduled bout with Dennis Siver took place on June 25, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 112. Penn lost the fight by majority decision.


title: B.J. Penn

text: For his next fight, Penn returned to lightweight to face Ryan Hall on December 29, 2018, at UFC 232; it was his third stint in the lightweight division. In preparation for the fight against Hall, Penn returned to train at Nova União. Penn lost the fight via a heel hook submission in the first round.


title: B.J. Penn

text: On July 26, 2019, news surfaced that Penn was expected to face Nik Lentz in a grudge match, at a UFC event to be determined. However, Penn was released from the promotion in early September after video evidence surfaced showing Penn fighting patrons in a bar brawl in Pahoa, Hawaii.


title: B.J. Penn

text: His nickname "B.J." is a shortened version of another nickname "Baby Jay", which itself derives from the fact that Penn is the youngest of his brothers all named "Jay Dee Penn". B.J.'s father, who is Irish and English, named 3 of his 4 children "Jay Dee", while the fourth is Reagan. In order to avoid confusion each of the sons named "Jay Dee" goes by a nickname: "Jay" (Jay Dee Penn), "Jay Dee" (Jay Dee Penn II), and "Baby Jay" (Jay Dee Penn III). Penn's mother, Lorraine Shin, is of Hawaiian and Korean descent.


title: B.J. Penn

text: Being born in Hawaii, Penn takes much pride in his Hawaiian upbringing. Penn often plays Hawaiian music during his walk-out entrances, a combination of "Hawaii ’78" into "E Ala E", both performed by Hawaiian musician Israel Kamakawiwoʻole as a tribute to his Hawaiian heritage and respect for his opponents, fans and the fight game. Penn has also stated that he identifies strongly with his Korean roots and has traveled to South Korea to hold seminars. He also said that he gets his hot temper from his Korean side which helps him use this energy in his fights.


title: B.J. Penn

text: Penn has two daughters with the same mother. He says that they have never married and "it doesn't matter that much in Hawaii."


title: B.J. Penn

text: Penn is the co-author of "Mixed Martial Arts: The Book of Knowledge", an instructional book on mixed martial arts fighting. Penn, along with Dave Weintraub, authored the autobiography "Why I Fight: The Belt is Just an Accessory" in 2010. The book debuted at #22 on the New York Times bestseller list. Penn also appeared in the film "Never Surrender" in 2009.


title: B.J. Penn

text: Penn was also the subject of a Paternity Lawsuit in relation to his daughter, Mahina Amado, approximately a year after the girl's birth. On the 5th of October, 2021, Penn also announced his intention to run for governor in the 2022 Hawaii gubernatorial election. He lost the Republican primary, ending as the runner-up to winner Duke Aiona. Following the election, he filed a complaint with the Hawaii Supreme Court contesting the results.


title: B.J. Penn

text: Penn has an extended history of alcohol-induced violence. In January 2015, Penn was arrested in Kihei, Hawaii and charged with assault after a brawl outside of a bar.


title: B.J. Penn

text: In 2019, Penn's estranged girlfriend, Shealen Uaiwa, filed a restraining order against him in October from her and Penn's children, alleging years of physical and sexual abuse. The order was granted in February 2019 and was in order through October 2021.


title: B.J. Penn

text: On August 27, 2019, Penn was involved in a bar brawl on Hawaii's Big Island. Subsequently, Penn was released from the UFC in early September following the incident.


title: B.J. Penn

text: On February 7, 2020, Penn was involved in a single-car accident in his home town of Hilo, Hawaii. According to local media, Penn was allegedly speeding when he lost control of his pickup truck and his vehicle flipped in front of a Hilo shopping mall. Penn was the only occupant of the vehicle, and he was transported to a nearby hospital by ambulance. Penn was investigated by the Hilo Police Department for DUI and his blood was drawn at the scene, but no charges have been filed.


title: B.J. Penn

text: On December 8, 2020, a paternity lawsuit was filed against Penn by the mother of his most recent child, Camila Amado.


title: B.J. Penn

text: On January 23, 2021, Penn was arrested in Honokaa, Hawaii, and was charged with DUI. Penn was later released from jail hours after his arrest pending an investigation. Video footage recorded from a bystander shows a handcuffed, drunk, and belligerent Penn yelling expletives at the police and the man recording while being assisted into an unmarked police vehicle.


title: B.J. Penn

text: Since his debut in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Penn emerged as one of the biggest stars in the history of the sport, headlining a total of eleven main-events (nine pay-per-view main-events) for the UFC during the course of his career (in addition to five for K-1). Penn was regarded as one of the most controversial and outspoken players in the history of mixed martial arts whose influence was considered instrumental in popularizing the UFC around the world in the 2000s and 2010s. His impact on the sport went beyond his UFC titles and dominant performances inside the octagon. A longtime advocate for drug testing in the sport, Penn was also the first to introduce an independent foundation in MMA to promote, coordinate and monitor the fight against performance-enhancing drugs in sports with the inclusion of "Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA)" during his and his opponent's training camps.


title: B.J. Penn

text: Recognized for his role in the resurgence of the lightweight division, Penn is considered to have been the division's most influential figure, turning the weight class around (in bouts with Sean Sherk, Kenny Florian, Diego Sanchez, Jens Pulver, and Joe Stevenson) to become one of the UFC's most popular, at a time when they had considered disbanding the division altogether and many publications had questioned whether lighter-weights could be successful. His nickname, The Prodigy originates prior to him competing in mixed martial arts, from accomplishing his extraordinary feat in the sport of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (earning his black belt in just under three years and winning the black belt division in the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship only three weeks later). His biography on the UFC website expressed this accomplishment as "an astonishing achievement in a sport where it takes the average athlete ten years or more to reach black belt status.


title: B.J. Penn

text: The Ultimate Fighting Championship's inaugural signature gym located in Honolulu, Hawaii, " 'UFC Gym BJ Penn' " is named in Penn's honor. The gym has grown to become one of the largest and most successful in the state of Hawaii. Penn (in his knockout victory over former UFC Lightweight Champion Sean Sherk) is featured in the UFC "Evolution" pay-per-view introduction.


title: B.J. Penn

text: He is widely considered one of the greatest lightweight (155 lbs) competitors in the sport's history, and as one of the greatest Welterweight (170 lbs) competitors as well due to his performances against Georges St-Pierre and Matt Hughes. Penn was also simultaneously ranked number one in both of these divisions following his back-to-back submission victories over Takanori Gomi and Matt Hughes, where he is the only fighter to hold such an honor.


title: B.J. Penn

text: Renowned boxing coach Freddie Roach has famously described Penn as the best boxer in all of mixed martial arts. Former UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, has said on numerous occasions that he believes Penn to be the greatest pound-for-pound fighter in the history of the sport. UFC Hall of Famer, UFC 10 and UFC 11 Tournament Champion and former UFC Heavyweight Champion Mark Coleman acknowledges Penn as his idol in the sport of mixed martial arts. Penn was ranked within the top five in the "FightersOnly! Magazine" " '100 Greatest Fighters in History'."


title: B.J. Penn

text: During the televised broadcast of UFC 187 in May 2015, it was revealed on Fox Sports that Penn would be inducted into the revamped UFC Hall of Fame under the Modern Category during International Fight week festivities prior to UFC 189.


title: Self-immolation

text: The term self-immolation broadly refers to acts of altruistic suicide, otherwise the giving up of one's body in an act of sacrifice. However, it most often refers specifically to autocremation, the act of sacrificing oneself by setting oneself on fire and burning to death. It is typically used for political or religious reasons, often as a form of non-violent protest or in acts of martyrdom. It has a centuries-long recognition as the most extreme form of protest possible by humankind.


title: Self-immolation

text: The English word "immolation" originally meant (1534) "killing a sacrificial victim; sacrifice" and came to figuratively mean (1690) "destruction, especially by fire". Its etymology was from Latin "to sprinkle with sacrificial meal (mola salsa); to sacrifice" in ancient Roman religion.


title: Self-immolation

text: Self-immolators frequently use accelerants before igniting themselves. This, combined with the self-immolators' refusal to protect themselves, can produce hotter flames and deeper, more extensive burns.


title: Self-immolation

text: Self-immolation has been described as excruciatingly painful. Later the burns become severe, nerves are burnt and the self-immolator loses sensation at the burnt areas. Some self-immolators can die during the act from inhalation of toxic combustion products, hot air and flames.


title: Self-immolation

text: The body has an inflammatory response to burnt skin which happens after 25% is burnt in adults. This response leads to blood and body fluid loss. If the self-immolator is not taken to a burn centre in less than four hours, they are more likely to die from shock. If no more than 80% of their body area is burnt and the self-immolator is younger than 40 years old, there is a survival chance of 50%. If the self-immolator has over 80% burns, the survival rate drops to 20%.


title: Self-immolation

text: Self-immolation is tolerated by some elements of Mahayana Buddhism and Hinduism, and it has been practiced for many centuries, especially in India, for various reasons, including "jauhar", political protest, devotion, and renouncement. An example from mythology includes the practice of Sati when the Hindu goddess Parvati's incarnation of the same name (see also Daksayani) legendarily set herself on fire after her father insulted her in Daksha Yajna for having married Shiva, the ascetic god. Shiva, Parvati and their army of ghosts attacked Daksha's Yajna and destroyed the sacrifice and Shiva beheaded Daksha and killed Daksha. Later, Daksha was revived by him and Daksha Yajna was completed when Daksha apologized. Certain warrior cultures, such as those of the Charans and Rajputs, also practiced self-immolation.


title: Self-immolation

text: Zarmanochegas was a monk of the Sramana tradition (possibly, but not necessarily a Buddhist) who, according to ancient historians such as Strabo and Dio Cassius, met Nicholas of Damascus in Antioch around 22 BC and burnt himself to death in Athens shortly thereafter.


title: Self-immolation

text: The monk Fayu 法羽 (d. 396) carried out the earliest recorded Chinese self-immolation. He first informed the "illegitimate" prince Yao Xu 姚緒—brother of Yao Chang who founded the non-Chinese Qiang state Later Qin (384–417)—that he intended to burn himself alive. Yao tried to dissuade Fayu, but he publicly swallowed incense chips, wrapped his body in oiled cloth, and chanted while setting fire to himself. The religious and lay witnesses were described as being "full of grief and admiration".


title: Self-immolation

text: Following Fayu's example, many Buddhist monks and nuns have used self-immolation for political purposes. Based upon analysis of Chinese historical records from the 4th to the 20th centuries, some monks did offer their bodies in periods of relative prosperity and peace, but there is a "marked coincidence" between acts of self-immolation and times of crisis, especially when secular powers were hostile towards Buddhism. For example, Daoxuan's (c. 667) "Xu Gaoseng Zhuan" (續高僧傳, or "Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks") records five monastics who self-immolated on the Zhongnan Mountains in response to the 574–577 persecution of Buddhism by Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou (known as the "Second Disaster of Wu").


title: Self-immolation

text: For many monks and laypeople in Chinese history, self-immolation was a form of Buddhist practice that modeled and expressed a particular path that led towards Buddhahood.


title: Self-immolation

text: Historian Jimmy Yu has stated that self-immolation cannot be interpreted based on Buddhist doctrine and beliefs alone but the practice must be understood in the larger context of the Chinese religious landscape. He examines many primary sources from the 16th and 17th century and demonstrates that bodily practices of self-harm, including self-immolation, was ritually performed not only by Buddhists but also by Daoists and literati officials who either exposed their naked body to the sun in a prolonged period of time as a form of self-sacrifice or burned themselves as a method of procuring rain. In other words, self-immolation was a sanctioned part of Chinese culture that was public, scripted, and intelligible both to the person doing the act and to those who viewed and interpreted it, regardless of their various religion affiliations.