Tag: UFC Fight Night 103

Five Biggest Takeaways From UFC Fight Night 103

UFC Fight Night 103 went down last night (Sun., Jan. 15, 2017) from Talking Stick Resort in Phoenix, Arizona. The main card was headlined by a featherweight match between No. 10-ranked prospect Yair Rodriguez and returning former UFC welterweight and lightweight champion BJ “The Prodigy” Penn. The co-main event played host to a lightweight bout

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UFC Fight Night 103 went down last night (Sun., Jan. 15, 2017) from Talking Stick Resort in Phoenix, Arizona.

The main card was headlined by a featherweight match between No. 10-ranked prospect Yair Rodriguez and returning former UFC welterweight and lightweight champion BJ “The Prodigy” Penn. The co-main event played host to a lightweight bout between veteran fan favorite Joe Lauzon and Marcin Held.

Overall, the card, which was the promotion’s first of the new year, provided fight fans with some exciting action from top to bottom.

Let’s take a look at the five biggest takeaways from last night’s event:

Aleksei Oleinik May Be A Heavyweight Dark Horse

Aleksei Oleinik is currently unranked in the UFC’s heavyweight division, but the 39-year-old Russian may be a dark horse in the weight class, and is a fighter fans should keep an eye on.

Oleinik has quietly compiled a 3-1 record inside the Octagon, including three stoppage victories. Already owning a submission victory over Anthony Hamilton and a knockout over Jared Rosholt, “The Boa Constrictor” returned to action last night and scored a submission win over Viktor Pesta. In fact, the submission Oleinik locked in is known as the Ezekiel choke, and he became the first fighter in promotional history to win a bout with it.

With a background in Sambo and jiu-jitsu, Oleinik is an ultra-experienced fighter possessing a 51-10 professional record. To give him even more credit, 42 of those 51 victories have come by way of finish.

If “The Boa Constrictor” can continue to rack up wins inside of the Octagon, he may be able to make some noise in the heavyweight division.

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UFC Fight Night 103 Reebok Fighter Payouts: BJ Penn & Joe Lauzon Lead Pack

UFC Fight Night 103 is in the books, and now it’s time for Reebok to pay the fighters their sponsorship money. UFC Fight Night 103 took place on Sunday, January 15, 2017 at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. The prelims on Fight Pass featured four bouts starting at 6:15 p.m. ET while the

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UFC Fight Night 103 is in the books, and now it’s time for Reebok to pay the fighters their sponsorship money.

UFC Fight Night 103 took place on Sunday, January 15, 2017 at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. The prelims on Fight Pass featured four bouts starting at 6:15 p.m. ET while the FOX Sports 1 prelims featured four bouts starting at 8 p.m. ET. The main card featured four bouts starting at 10 p.m. ET.

Yair Rodriguez vs. BJ Penn in a featherweight bout was the main event while Joe Lauzon vs. Marcin Held in a lightweight was the co-main event. Rounding out the main card was Court McGee vs. Ben Saunders in a welterweight bout and John Moraga vs. Sergio Pettis in a flyweight bout.

The full payouts include:

Yair Rodriguez: $5,000 def. BJ Penn: $20,000

Joe Lauzon: $20,000 def. Marcin Held: $2,500

Ben Saunders: $10,000 def. Court McGee: $10,000

Sergio Pettis: $5,000 def. John Moraga: $5,000

Drakkar Klose: $2,500 def. Devin Powell: $2,500

Augusto Mendes: $2,500 def. Frankie Saenz: $5,000

Aleksei Oleinik: $2,500 def. Viktor Pesta: $2,500

Tony Martin: $5,000 def. Alex White: $2,500

Nina Ansaroff: $2,500 def. Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger: $2,500

Walt Harris: $5,000 def. Chase Sherman: $2,500

Joachim Christensen: $2,500 def. Bojan Mihajlovic: $2,500

Cyril Asker: $2,500 def. Dmitrii Smoliakov: $2,500

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(Archives) Rodriguez On BJ Penn Fight: It Wasn’t A Late Stoppage (2017)

The following article was published on this day five years ago. It is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.

[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JANUARY 16, 2017, 10:41 AM]

Headline: Rodriguez On BJ Penn Fight: ‘…

Yair Rodriguez BJ Penn

The following article was published on this day five years ago. It is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.

[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JANUARY 16, 2017, 10:41 AM]

Headline: Rodriguez On BJ Penn Fight: ‘I Don’t Think It Was Late Stoppage

Yair Rodriguez’s first fight of 2017 was a successful one. “El Pantera” shared the Octagon with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Hall of Famer B.J. Penn last night (Jan. 15). It was a one-sided destruction in favor of Rodriguez.

The first round saw the Mexican bruiser throw out multiple kicks that kept “The Prodigy” backing up. Early on, Penn tried to keep his opponent against the fence, but Rodriguez got out with ease. From there on, he kept his frenetic offense going.

In the second round, Rodriguez landed a front kick followed by a straight punch that dropped Penn. He followed up with some vicious ground-and-pound. The fight was stopped by referee “Big” John McCarthy 24 seconds into the round.

Some felt the stoppage should’ve come sooner. In a backstage interview with Megan Olivi, Rodriguez disagreed:

“I don’t think so. He was moving and even though he was in danger, I knew he was pretty good. And throwing those upside kicks and all that stuff so I was just trying to be careful with that. If I stop a little, he’ll probably stand up. He’s a guy who has a lot of experience. You cannot play around with that. So you gotta take a chance, if you have the chance you take it a hundred percent.”

During his post-fight interview, Rodriguez didn’t call anyone out specifically. He explained why.

“I’m a real contender in the featherweight division. I don’t have nothing to bring. I don’t wanna ask for no fighters. I’m not the type of fighter to ask for other opponents. I don’t pick my guys. I don’t pick my guys and say, ‘oh I think I can win against this guy,’ no. I’m just gonna wait and see what the UFC wants to bring next. They know their plans and I’m just here.”

Continue Reading (Archives) Rodriguez On BJ Penn Fight: It Wasn’t A Late Stoppage (2017) at MMA News.

Yair Rodriguez Rakes in $50,000 Bonus For Thrashing of B.J. Penn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7EKXk1t0YU

The first Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event of 2017 is in the books. Last night’s (Jan. 15) UFC Fight Night card took place inside the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. Headlining th…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7EKXk1t0YU

The first Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event of 2017 is in the books. Last night’s (Jan. 15) UFC Fight Night card took place inside the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. Headlining the event was a featherweight clash between Yair Rodriguez and B.J. Penn.

“El Pantera” earned a TKO victory in the lopsided affair that lasted five minutes and 24 seconds total. Rodriguez’s flashy kicks had “The Prodigy” off balance and backing up in the first round. A front kick followed by a straight punch in the second round marked the beginning of the end for Penn. Just 24 seconds into the second stanza, referee “Big” John McCarthy put a stop to the fight.

The win improved the Mexican warrior’s winning streak to eight. Before the updated rankings, Rodriguez finds himself in the No. 10 spot. A fight against a top 10 opponent seems to be the next step for the rising 145-pounder.

With many fighters booked or injured, it’ll be interesting to see who “El Pantera” meets next. No. 9 ranked Brian Ortega is currently healing a torn labrum. Perhaps a bout with No. 7 ranked Charles Oliveira or the winner of No. 8 ranked Dennis Bermudez and Chan Sung Jung will be next.

For Rodriguez’s efforts last night, he took home a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus. He hasn’t the only one who got paid a bonus. Aleksei Oleinik scored the first Ezekiel choke finish in UFC history. The choke isn’t often seen outside of jiu-jitsu tournaments due to the submission’s dependency on using the gi as leverage. Oleinik earned an extra $50,000 for putting Viktor Pesta to sleep.

The other two men who became $50,000 richer were bantamweights Augusto Mendes and Frankie Saenz. They were awarded “Fight of the Night.” It’s no surprise as the fighters dropped each other in the bout and swung for the fences. Mendes landed the cleaner shots and was awarded the split decision win.

Video: Joe Lauzon Admits He Lost At UFC Fight Night 103

UFC Fight Night 103 went down last night (Jan. 15, 2016) from Phoenix, Arizona presented live on FOX Sports 1. From top to bottom, the card produced some exciting action, although it produced a bit of controversy as well, specifically pertaining to the co-main event, which featured a lightweight bout between veteran Joe Lauzon and

The post Video: Joe Lauzon Admits He Lost At UFC Fight Night 103 appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

UFC Fight Night 103 went down last night (Jan. 15, 2016) from Phoenix, Arizona presented live on FOX Sports 1. From top to bottom, the card produced some exciting action, although it produced a bit of controversy as well, specifically pertaining to the co-main event, which featured a lightweight bout between veteran Joe Lauzon and Marcin Held.

Lauzon connected with a series of brutal elbows early on in the first round, nearly finishing Held, but he didn’t appear to have much success for the remainder of the contest.

Held, a former Bellator lightweight title challenger, is known for his grappling skills, as he possesses a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He was able to take down “J-Lau” multiple times, and he appeared to control the majority of the grappling exchanges.

Many had felt as if he should’ve been awarded the decision, but Lauzon was surprisingly given the split-decision victory, a decision even he felt was wrong. Check out what he had to say in his post-fight interview below (Via FOX Sports):

Did you agree with the decision?

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Video Highlights: Yair Rodriguez TKOs B.J. Penn At UFC Fight Night 103

https://youtu.be/L6GxAKELF-I

At the UFC Fight Night 103 event in Phoenix, Arizona on Sunday night, former TUF Champion and undefeated rising contender Yair Rodriguez proved he is the real deal.

Rodriguez dominated UFC Hall Of Famer and former two…

https://youtu.be/L6GxAKELF-I

At the UFC Fight Night 103 event in Phoenix, Arizona on Sunday night, former TUF Champion and undefeated rising contender Yair Rodriguez proved he is the real deal.

Rodriguez dominated UFC Hall Of Famer and former two-division World Champion B.J. Penn in “The Prodigy’s” out-of-retirement Octagon return, stopping the Hawiian MMA legend with strikes just 24 seconds into the second round.

Featured above and below courtesy of UFC’s official Twitter, Instagram and YouTube pages, are video highlights of Yair Rodriguez vs. B.J. Penn from Sunday night’s UFC Fight Night 103 event in Phoenix.

For complete UFC Fight Night 103 results, click here.

@PanteraUFC WINNER BY TKO!!! #UFCPhoenix

A photo posted by ufc (@ufc) on