B.J. Penn Talks About Life as a Father and Kicking GSP's A**

By Bryan Tucker - Executive Editor

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B.J. Penn already has one UFC title belt, but he wants another.

He will try to make history Saturday at UFC 94 when he battles reigning welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre for his title, aiming to become the first UFC fighter to hold belts in two different weight classes at the same time.

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Exclusive Georges St. Pierre Q&A | Watch Weigh-In Video | Weigh-In Results

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The confident Hawaiian discussed being a new father, his family's humble beginnings and his unusual start to the world of mixed martial arts in an exclusive interview with FanHouse.

FanHouse: Do you think you should have won your first fight against Georges St. Pierre?
B.J. Penn: I didn't get hurt. I didn't feel like I got beat up. If he won by points, I'm OK with that. He was more prepared than I was. He won so that's life.

FH: What do you think was the difference? GSP's ground game or something else?
BJP: He was more prepared than I was, and he was in better shape.

FH: How have you improved since that fight?
BJP: I'm very prepared this time for the fight. I feel good, and I don't know man, I'm going to win this one.

FH: Your UFC Primetime comments made a lot of waves about how you're going to fight to the death and kill GSP. Do you regret those at all?
BJP: They asked me what I am going to be thinking when I'm going to be standing across the ring from him when they're announcing our names. If you're not thinking that, what the hell are you doing in the Octagon?

FH: What do you think of your experience with UFC Primetime as a whole?
BJP: You know all and all right now, I got no bad feelings towards it.


FH: I read some reports that you weren't happy with how you and your family were portrayed in that first episode. Is that true?
BJP: All that stuff is true, but I can't sit there and dwell on that. I was mad in the moment, but now it's time to move on.

FH: How would you describe your relationship with Dana White?
BJP: It's always up and down, but we will always be friends.

FH: The show made a big contrast between yours and GSP's childhoods. What was yours really like and what got you into mixed martial arts?
BJP: I lived a good life. Actually, my parents and my two older brothers lived in a bus. They worked real hard and saved all their money trying to move up through the world. Me and my younger brother were then born into the family. I lived a good life. They took good care of me and they were never really around as much because they were working so hard. All they did was dedicate the whole life to working and they are really hard workers.

I went to Hilo High School, and I kind of fell into jiu-jitsu. My dad kind of pushed me into jiu-jitsu. I wasn't really excited about jiu-jitsu, but everybody said I was good. They kind of just pushed me in and here I am today. I guess everything happens for a reason.

FH: What did you like about jiu-jitsu early on?
BJP: I was good at it. I really didn't care, but I was like, whatever, it wasn't going to be my life or anything. Here I am today fighting for another world championship so I guess it is my life.

FH: What would you have done if you didn't start taking jiu-jitsu?
BJP: I have no clue. I have no clue what I would have done ... Who knows? I guess this is the path I was supposed to take. I couldn't see myself doing anything else these last 10 years.

FH: One of the cool things about the show was how it showed the relationship between you and your daughter. What has your life been like since she was born?
BJP: It's awesome. Coming up to a fight I try not to think about her because I just want to be a fighter. I want to be serious about this fight. It's so awesome seeing her and like any parent you think she is the cutest kid in the world. I just love seeing her.

FH: How hard is it to balance training and being a parent?
BJP: Her mother actually took control a lot. She really took care of her while I trained for the fight. I took care of her during the daytime, but throughout the night her mother did all the work.

FH: What do you do during your spare time since you likely didn't have much time with training and parenting?
BJP: I like to hang out at the beach, hang out with my friends, tell stories and joke around. That's all I do.

FH: How has the jump back to 170 pounds been for you? How do you feel right now?
BJP: I feel great, man. I have been eating a lot of food. I'm going to be really healthy and I'm going to kick his a**.

FH: What would it mean to you to be holding two title belts Saturday night?
BJP: That whole thing is awesome. I'm glad I'm going to be able to win it from Georges. You want to win it from a real champion and not a paper champion.

FH: Do you respect Georges as a person and a fighter?
BJP: I respect Georges. After the fight, I will shake his hand.

FH: What do you have planned after the fight? After all the months of training?
BJP: After the fight, I'm just going to go home. I don't drink after the fight anymore. I'll just go home and enjoy the victory and be happy about it. Maybe go back to Hilo, and go party with some of my friends, and go enjoy hanging out with my daughter.

Read More: b.j.penn, georgesst.pierre, ufc 94, ufc94, front page, B.J. Penn (MMA), Georges St. Pierre (MMA)

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