As part of his busy schedule during his UFC press-tour in the Philippines, B.J. Penn drew thousands of Filipino fight fans in the SM Mall of Asia today, as he had a public workout and demonstration.

Penn was overwhelmed by the size of the crowd and constantly thanked the fans for making him feel very welcome.

"I wanna thank the fans for coming out and for loving the sport," Penn said to the delight of the crowd. "It won't be long until there's a Filipino champion in the UFC."

Although it was impossible to reach every fan who attended, that didn't stop 'The Prodigy' from trying. Shortly after his workout concluded, the former two-division world champion walked through every corner of the venue to try and take pictures or sign autographs for as much fans as he could possibly could.

Much like the open workouts held in the country by Georges St. Pierre, Brandon Vera, and Chuck Liddell on these past few years, there was another huge turnout from fight fans who are hungry for a UFC event. Maybe this one finally convinces the UFC brass to bring a show to the country?

Stay tuned on the coming days for more on Penn's trip to the Philippines, and do check out more photos after the jump.