BJ Penn Beats Jens Pulver in Ultimate Fighter Finale

BJ Penn clamped on a rear naked choke that couldn't be broken with a jackhammer, beating Jens Pulver.  Penn was a big -350 favorite to win at most online bookmakers (See:  Betting on Upcoming UFC 73 Here).

In recent UFC bouts, the underdogs have come out on top, providing for hefty payouts to some.  Such was not the case this weekend.

Penn won with a rear naked choke in the second round after controlling Pulver from the mount and then taking Pulver's back. He finished the fight after trapping Pulver's left arm with his leg and sinking in the choke.

Jay Dee "B.J." Penn (born December 12, 1978 in Hilo, Hawaii) is an American professional mixed martial arts fighter and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. He holds notable wins over Matt Hughes, Takanori Gomi, Jens Pulver and Caol Uno. He is the first American-born winner of the World Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championship (Mundial) in the black belt category (2000), a former UFC Welterweight Champion, and is a coach on the The Ultimate Fighter 5 reality show. His nickname "B.J." is short for "Baby Jay", as he is the youngest of his male siblings named "Jay Dee Penn".

At the age of seventeen, Penn began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu after being introduced to it by his neighbor Tom Callos, and in 1997 he started training under Ralph Gracie. After being awarded his black belt in 2000 by Andre Pederneiras of Nova Uniao, he became the first non-Brazilian to win a gold medal in the black belt division of the Mundial World Championships held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Overall, more than 75% of readership focus was on fighting this weekend at Sports911 - an online bookmaker's dream. Both the Frank Shamrock and Ricky Hatton fights, respectively, won a rather substantial size audience.  Kimbo Slice and his defeat of former WBO World Heavyweight Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist Ray Mercer will have topped the readership ranks, however.

Sports911.com sports staff had been working around the clock and throughout the early morning hours of Sunday monitoring all the fight results. 

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Christopher Costigan, Sports911.com

Originally published June 24, 2007 2:46 am ET