So you're wondering what a BJ Penn interview is doing on the TGIF pages? Puhlease. Sports bars across Hawai'i are going to be packed Saturday for UFC 94: Georges St-Pierre vs. BJ Penn 2; and again on Super Bowl Sunday for the Arizona Cardinals miracle against the Pittsburgh Steelers. (Hey, we can dream, can't we?)

Super Brawl and Super Bowl: One weekend we're willing to cozy up to the TV for social events that extend far beyond the octagon and field.

Even Dana White, UFC president, predicts this to be the biggest pay-per-view in UFC and mixed-martial-arts history.

All this is music to Penn's ears, of course. Since he first launched bjpenn.com, he's become the UFC's top marketing machine. The 30-year-old Hilo native even started his own television show last month that airs Sunday afternoons on KHON throughout the Islands. Recently, he took some time out of his training to talk with TGIF about his ventures outside the octagon.

Q. You're fighting in Vegas on Super Bowl weekend. Are you a gambler?

A. Ha! I keep my money in my pocket. Even when I was young, I never flipped dollars. I get to Vegas maybe 10 times a year to see Dana White (UFC president), but I never gamble.

Q. Maybe your most memorable speech after a big fight was, "Go to bjpenn.com to get your fight comments. Then you walked off and left viewers hanging. Thanks, by the way. I couldn't log on because of the traffic.

Q. It's all about marketing with you, isn't it?

A. It's about business. You know at the news conferences for this fight, Georges is coming in a suit and tie and trying to be professional and business-like, and I show up in jeans and a T-shirt. But my T-shirt says "bjpenn.com." Here he is in a suit and tie and acting like a businessman, but I'm telling people to go to my site with my T-shirt. Who's the businessman?

Q. Where do most of your subscribers come from?

A. Oh man, we get a lot from California, Canada and even from places like Slovenia. I see that and I'm like, 'How does someone from Slovenia even know about this?' It's weird, man, but that's the power and reach of the Internet. I always wanted a TV or radio station, and now I'm broadcasting around the world. Plus, the startup cost for a Web site isn't that much to reach so many people.

Q. You started your own TV show last month. Is that phase two of your branching out into media and entertainment?

A. It was something we wanted to try. Maui X Productions is producing it and KHON was behind it. I don't know what will be next after that. Everyone keeps telling me to run for office, but I don't know. I'd probably get into trouble and people would then say I'm not a good guy and all that. I'm just having fun and enjoying the moment.

Q. Run for office? That'd be cool. You're kind of a mini Charles Barkley in the sense that you speak your mind and people understand it's who you are.

A. There's a correlation there (laughs). Remember those commercials where Charles said, "Don't call me a role model"? That's it. It's scary being looked at like that. One night you go get in trouble and people come down on you. I tell kids all the times there's a time to work and a time to play. When it's time to work, work hard. When it's time to play, play hard. Be smart.

Q. You learned the hard way?

A. Yeah. I (got off) one year probation on Dec. 13. I'm glad everything worked out good.

(Editor's note: Penn was sentenced to one year of probation last year and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution after he hit a Honolulu police officer during a massive melee outside of a Waikiki nightclub in 2005.)

Q. What's been the biggest change in your life?

A. My daughter, Aeva Lili'u Penn, was just born in October. I can't believe it, man. I want her to grow up with a good life, good opportunities. She definitely makes me want to do more.

Q. Any chance a UFC card will ever come here?

A. Not until the state fixes the MMA bill that's going into effect this year. The state wants promoters to pay 2 percent of all DVDs and pay-per-view sales. It's stupid. They want 2 percent of the footage, and the fighters don't even get that. The state made that bill with one key ingredient, greed. You watch, a lot of smaller shows are going to be shutting down because of it.

Q. What do you take from Dana White and his marketing of the UFC?

A. Dana was brilliant with the UFC and the Ultimate Fighter show. I always wondered what took the sport so long to get popular. To me, here's a sport that can't fail. Dana was smart to get that show going.

Q. So you've got the gym, the Web site, the TV show, the UFC title — what does the future hold?

A. I can see myself getting into more training stuff around the world. How long I fight, I don't know if it's another 10 years or this is my last fight. I'll ask myself after it's over.

Q. Since you brought up the fight, how do you see this one going?

A. I really see him trying to take me down and do what he did with Matt Serra. He'll try beat me at jiu-jitsu because he always wants to beat his opponent at their own game, but he'd have to be crazy. He's just a grappler. He's a strong wrestler but he keeps saying he's going to finish me off. I'm thinking he's getting ahead of himself. I'm just thinking of winning. I don't know how it will happen, but I don't win by decision.