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#9 BJ Penn
BJ Penn might be a fighter that the UFC brass considers a genuine legend right now – he’s been inducted into the Hall of Fame and continues to fight despite being years past his prime – but back in 2004 ‘The Prodigy’ landed himself in hot water with the promotion and some really nasty feuding almost ended with him being erased from UFC history.
UFC 46 in January 2004 saw Penn upset longtime Welterweight kingpin Matt Hughes to win his first UFC title, but the fight happened to be the final one on his contract. According to Penn’s 2010 autobiography, he was then offered $187,500 per fight by the K-1 promotion – apparently 5 times what he was making in the UFC.
According to Penn, when he decided to take K-1’s offer, a furious Dana White called him and told him “you’re finished, you’re scorched earth, motherf*cker”. Soon after, the UFC stripped Penn of his title and put together a fight between Hughes and Georges St-Pierre for the vacant belt. Penn attempted to file a lawsuit to stop the bout from happening but ended up being unsuccessful.
About a year later, the two sides mended fences and Penn was brought back into the fold for a fight with St-Pierre in early 2006. Penn ended up going onto have a legendary reign with the Lightweight title, drew a ton of money for the UFC, and is now one of their golden boys again.
