UFC Fight Night: Rodriguez vs Penn went down last night. In the headlining spot, UFC hall-of-famer BJ Penn returned to the Octagon at the age of 38. He took on the young, talented Yair Rodriguez. The action took place in Phoenix, Arizona, and featured some pretty memorable bouts. Here are the highlights:
Yair Rodriguez TKOs BJ Penn
Unfortunately, the main event offered a fairly sad sight to see. Many of us were hoping Penn would come back looking rejuvenated, fresh, sharp, and perhaps victorious. After all, he did look in much better physical condition than his last return, moved his camp to Greg Jackson’s, and reunited with former striking coach Jason Parillo. However, none of this helped Penn as he was dismantled quite effortlessly by Yair Rodriguez.
24-year-old Rodriguez smashed Penn with his usual variety of kicks to the legs, body, and head. Even though “Pantera” is widely known for his kicking arsenal, Penn didn’t seem to have an answer for any of them. He tried to block them, but they repeatedly smashed his arms, rattling the Hawaiian.
Penn’s strategy seemed to be a lot of wrestling and grinding in the clinch. He attempted to tie up a few times, but Rodriguez shucked Penn off of him like it was nothing, and continued to pick him apart on the feet.
Ultimately, at the start of round two, Rodriguez snapped Penn’s head back with a front kick to the face. Penn went down, and Rodriguez slammed home a series of punches on the ground to get the finish.
While it wasn’t the showing we wanted to see from Penn, it was a fantastic showing by Rodriguez who now has a highlight victory over a legend. Look for Yair Rodriguez to become a serious contender this year.
Joe Lauzon earns close decision over Marcin Held
In the co-main event, we saw lightweight veteran Joe Lauzon earn a hard-fought decision over young Polish talent Marcin Held. Even though Held was able to take Lauzon down repeatedly, he wasn’t ever able to mount much of an offense. Lauzon on the other hand him stunned in the first round with a vicious elbow attack, and looked to be the more aggressive fighter pursuing a finish. This makes Held 0-2 in the UFC since leaving Bellator. It’s not a good look for him so far, but Diego Sanchez and Joe Lauzon make for two tough customers.
Sergio Pettis defeats John Moraga
Opening up the main card on Fox Sports 1 was a flyweight bout. Former title challenger John Moraga, representing Arizona, took on young, hungry up-and-comer Sergio Pettis. What took place was probably the most mature performance out of Pettis’s career as he decisively beat Moraga on the score cards. Pettis out-struck Moraga and defended takedown attempts to notch up two 29-28 scores and a 30-27 score from the judges. At just 23 years of age, Pettis seems to have a very bright future. He also moves to a 3-fight win streak.
Augusto Mendes narrowly beats Frankie Saenz in barnburner
It’s no surprise that Augusto Mendes and Frankie Saenz were given Fight of the Night honors. These two bantamweights put on a hell of a fight, but Mendes was the one given the victory. Nevertheless, both guys had their moments throughout the 15-minute scrap.
Mendes, a renowned BJJ practitioner, showed off his much-improved striking in this bout. In his UFC debut, he met current champ Cody Garbrandt, and was finished in the first round. This time, he was able to actually get off with some strikes, and hurt Saenz on multiple occassion. The same can be said for Saenz though, who in particular, landed a big elbow in the clinch that had Mendes hurt.
This fight speaks the potential and talent the UFC has in its 135 lb bantamweight division. It’s growing ever so slightly, and filling up with some very skilled, well-rounded fighters.
Oleksiy Oliynyk chokes out Victor Pesta with ezekiel choke
History was made at UFC: Phoenix as well. In a heavyweight bout, 39-year-old Oliynyk pulled off the first ever ezekiel choke in the UFC. The reason why this submission is so rare in not just the UFC, but in other promotions too, is because it typically requires a grappler’s gi to pull off. However, Oliynyk has slightly modified the choke to make it applicable to MMA. Furthermore, Oliynyk can pull the choke off from pretty much any position! He attempted it standing in the clinch, but was taken down and subsequently mounted. But, from the bottom, Oliynyk slapped it on and forced a bewildered Pesta to tap.
Interestlingly enough, this is Oliynyk’s 10th ezekiel choke in his 62-fight career. Talk about a veteran!
Even though Father Time isn’t on Oliynyk’s side, he has potential to be a heavyweight contender. His striking is still a little sloppy and reckless; any seasoned striker will be able to take advantage of this. But until then, I expect him to keep racking up these amazing finishes.
Nina Ansaroff chokes out Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger
Both Ansaroff and Jones-Lybargar were off to some rough starts to their UFC careers heading into this bout. Both were 0-2, and in desperate need of a win. That victory found itself for Nina Ansaroff who won by rear-naked choke in round 3. Ansaroff is perhaps most known for being the girlfriend of current UFC bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes. Hopefully we continue to see Ansaroff rack up wins as she no doubt has the resources to train with the best of the best and improve. For Jones-Lybarger, we may see her UFC career meet its demise.
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