At the UFC Gym grand opening in Corona, CA, BJ Penn announced that construction will begin on a UFC Gym in his native Hawaii, and will be branded with his name.

One of the awaited events of the day was BJ Penn’s mysterious announcement that would be given during the first media interview in the morning.

And his announcement was consistent with the theme of the UFC’s increasing involvement within local communities through their UFC Gyms.

BJ Penn announced that construction will begin on a UFC Gym in his native Hawaii, and will be branded with his name.

UFC Gym: BJ Penn should be completed by Jan. 1, 2012, with facilities comparable to that of the one in Corona. It will be replacing the famed “Pipeline Cafe” in Honolulu, which closed its doors in early February of this year.

This is a project that has been two years in the making, and will be the first UFC Gym branded with a fighter’s name.

“I’m trying to be humble and sit here and take it all in, but I’m very, very excited by this whole thing.”

BJ also mentioned that efforts will be discussed to reach out to at-risk youth through the gym and its programs.

By: Kevin Leong