Reports: Paternity Suit Filed Against UFC Hall of Famer B.J. Penn

A woman with whom B.J. Penn fathered a child in June 2019 has filed a paternity suit against the UFC Hall of Famer.

Combate was first to report the news, and additional details were provided by MMAFighting.com. Penn anounced the birth of his daughter, Mahina Amado Penn, on social media eight months after she was born. The girl’s mother, Camila Amado, has filed a lawsuit seeking paternity recognition and alimony.

Penn met Amado while training at Nova Uniao in September 2018, and Amado found out she was pregnant after spending time with the fighter in Hawaii in January 2019. According to the reports, Amado has spent a year trying to get Penn to recognize paternity, and six days after Mahina’s birthday she elected to file a lawsuit in Rio de Janeiro.

According to MMAFighting, a DNA test was conducted with Mahina Amado and one of Penn’s daughters in January 2020 and determined that it was more than 99 percent likely that they were half siblings.

“It’s a very upsetting situation for me, who take care of my daughter by myself,” Amado stold MMAFighting. “My daughter is growing up and soon she will wanna know who her father is, and he’s a public figure.

“He’s used my daughter’s image, my image on social media. He put her name there, Mahina Amado Penn, which would be [her full name with] his surname, but he’s none of that.”

Penn told Combate that he “already introduced his daughter on social media” and is “interested in legally recognizing paternity.”

Penn was released from the UFC in September after footage showed “The Prodigy” involved in a bar fight in Hawaii. A champion at both welterweight and lightweight, Penn ended his promotional tenure with seven consecutive losses.