UFC Fight Night 103 is here, and it goes down tonight (Sunday, January 15, 2017) from the at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. The prelims on Fight Pass will feature four bouts starting at 6:15 p.m. ET while the FOX Sports 1 prelims will feature four bouts starting at 8 p.m. ET. The
UFC Fight Night 103 is here, and it goes down tonight (Sunday, January 15, 2017) from the at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. The prelims on Fight Pass will feature four bouts starting at 6:15 p.m. ET while the FOX Sports 1 prelims will feature four bouts starting at 8 p.m. ET. The main card features four bouts starting at 10 p.m. ET.
According to oddsmakers, Yair Rodriguez is a -420 favorite over BJ Penn, who is a +335 underdog. Joe Lauzon vs. Marcin Held in a lightweight will be the co-main event and both fighters are -110, which means oddmakers do not have a favorite nor an underdog. Here are the betting odds:
MAIN CARD (FOX Sports 10 p.m. ET)
Featherweight: Yair Rodriguez (-420) vs. BJ Penn (+335)
Lightweight: Joe Lauzon (-110) vs. Marcin Held (-110)
Welterweight: Court McGee (-105) vs. Ben Saunders (-115)
Flyweight: John Moraga (+130) vs. Sergio Pettis (-150)
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1/8 p.m. ET)
Bantamweight: Augusto Mendes (+145) vs. Frankie Saenz (-165)
Heavyweight: Oleksiy Oliynyk (-140) vs. Viktor Pesta (+120)
Lightweight: Alex White (+155) vs. Tony Martin (-175)
Lightweight: Devin Powell (+220) vs. Drakkar Klose (-260)
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass/6:15 p.m. ET)
Strawweight: Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger (+130) vs. Nina Ansaroff (-150)
Heavyweight: Walt Harris (-135) vs. Chase Sherman (+115)
Light Heavyweight: Joachim Christensen (-240) vs. Bojan Mihajlovic (+200)
Heavyweight: Cyril Asker (-125) vs. Dmitry Smoliakov (+105)
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will be holding its first event of 2017 tomorrow night (Jan. 15) inside the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. The fights…
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will be holding its first event of 2017 tomorrow night (Jan. 15) inside the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. The fights will begin on UFC Fight Pass at 6 p.m. ET. The action will transition to FOX Sports 1 (FS1) at 8 p.m. for the rest of the prelims. The main card begins at 10 p.m. ET and will also air on FS1.
Early this morning, the fighters on the card tipped the scales. Everyone on the card made weight. The fighters later engaged in staredowns for the ceremonial weigh-ins.
UFC Fight Night Phoenix will be headlined by a featherweight tilt between UFC Hall of Famer B.J. Penn and rising prospect Yair Rodriguez. “The Prodigy” is 0-3-1 in his last four bouts and is coming out of retirement. Rodriguez is looking to extend his winning streak to eight.
The co-main event will feature a lightweight clash between 38-fight veteran Joe Lauzon and former Bellator title challenger Marcin Held. Lauzon will want to rebound from his loss to Jim Miller back in August, while Held is in search of his first UFC win.
Also on the card will be Ben Saunders, who is returning after a brief departure from the UFC. He’ll be going toe-to-toe with The Ultimate Fighter season 11 winner, Court McGee.
Here are the weigh-in results:
Main Card (FS1)
B.J. Penn (146) vs. Yair Rodriguez (145)
Marcin Held (156) vs. Joe Lauzon (155)
Court McGee (170) vs. Ben Saunders (170)
John Moraga (126) vs. Sergio Pettis
Preliminary Card (FS1)
Drakkar Klose (156) vs. Devin Powell (155)
Augusto Mendes (135) vs. Frankie Saenz (135)
Aleksei Oleinik (242) vs. Viktor Pesta (239)
Tony Martin (155) vs. Alex White (155)
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Nina Ansaroff (116) vs. Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger (115)
Walt Harris (254) vs. Chase Sherman (246)
Joachim Christensen (205) vs. Bojan Mihajlovic (205)
Cyril Asker (248) vs. Dmitrii Smoliakov (257)
Tomorrow night (Sun., January 15, 2017) the UFC will return in a high-profile time slot with UFC Fight Night 103 from Talking Stick Resort in Phoenix, Arizona. The card itself may not live up to the billing of a MMA event set to follow FOX’s NFL playoff broadcast, but it does feature the return of
Tomorrow night (Sun., January 15, 2017) the UFC will return in a high-profile time slot with UFC Fight Night 103 from Talking Stick Resort in Phoenix, Arizona. The card itself may not live up to the billing of a MMA event set to follow FOX’s NFL playoff broadcast, but it does feature the return of former welterweight and lightweight titleholder BJ Penn, who will look to begin a new chapter of his storied career against rising potential star Yair Rodriguez, who will look to use “The Prodigy” as his biggest win to date.
The card offers somewhat little name value aside from the main event, with Joe Lauzon vs. Marcin Held squaring off in the lightweight co-main event. Find out who we picked to win the two main bouts here:
BJ Penn vs. Yair Rodriguez:
Mike Drahota:
While “The Prodigy” has no doubt had one of the more historic and prominent careers in UFC history, it remains to be seen if his comeback attempt can bear any fruit. Since it was announced last year, Penn’s return has been blocked by seemingly endless injuries, a USADA suspension, and even a set of disturbing allegations that ultimately didn’t result in criminal charges. That makes me wonder if it was doomed before it began.
Predicting the future based on the past is at times a tough undertaking, however, so we can only focus on the facts we have. In that area, Penn simply has a massive challenge before him in the form of Rodriguez, arguably the UFC’s best rising star after the recent falls of Paige VanZant and Sage Northcutt. “El Pantera” is fast, powerful, and well rounded, and he also possesses quite possibly the most dynamic and unorthodox striking skills at the featherweight division.
“The Prodigy” has been training with both Greg Jackson and Jason Parillo, and he no doubt has the all-around game to pull off a big win. But with five losses in his last seven bouts, I just don’t see it in such a difficult fight. Penn could certainly shock the world, and his best chance to do so is probably on the ground with his world-class submission game. I just tend to believe Rodriguez’s length, speed, and accuracy will enable him to outclass Penn on the feet. Yair Rodriguez by unanimous decision.
Mike Henken:
As big of a fan of Penn as I am, I feel as if “The Prodigy” has quite a tough fight in front of him. Not only has he not won a fight since 2010, but he also hasn’t competed since being brutally stopped by Frankie Edgar in 2014. He will now attempt to make his return at 38 years of age against the red-hot prospect Rodriguez. The former TUF: Latin America winner has compiled a 5-0 record inside of the Octagon using his long and rangy striking style that includes a wide variety of spinning and jumping attacks.
Rodriguez also possesses somewhat solid wrestling and a seemingly solid ground game, although he prefers to strike. However, the Mexican can get wild at times, leaving open the opportunity for Penn to use his crisp and powerful boxing to land a big shot. Penn should also look to close the distance, as Rodriguez likes to fight from the outside. If the fight ends up on the mat, “The Prodigy” may also have a chance, as his jiu-jitsu is second to none. Now training under the tutelage of legendary trainer Greg Jackson, it’ll be interesting to see what form of Penn shows up. While I could see him pulling something off in Phoenix, I feel as if Rodriguez will stick and move on the outside, while picking Penn apart. Rodriguez by fourth-round TKO.
Joe Lauzon vs. Marcin Held:
Mike Drahota:
This possible lightweight barnburner doesn’t possess any true ranking implication for the crowded 155-pound division, but it will almost assuredly be a lot of fun. Bonus leader Lauzon has seemingly alternated big performances with ho-hum ones, and he’s lost five out of his last nine bouts after dropping a controversial split decision to his longtime foe Jim Miller in his latest bout. Held, on the other hand, is a grappling wiz like Lauzon, but he has a lot more to prove after dropping his UFC debut fight against another longtime veteran in Diego Sanchez. Held has to win to begin living up to the promise he brought, and I think he gets it done here after Lauzon puts him in some dangerous spots. Held by unanimous decision.
Mike Henken:
The co-main event should be an intriguing fight between two entertaining fighters. Lauzon is extremely aggressive, constantly pushing forward with combinations. On the ground, he fights in a similar manner, relentlessly hunting for a finish. Held is also an aggressive fighter, although he tends to push forward looking for a takedown. On the canvas, Held is extremely dangerous with submissions, although Lauzon is a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and a very strong grappler himself. I see “J-Lau” avoiding a grappling match and landing big shots on the feet. Lauzon by second-round TKO.
When Yair Rodriguez steps foot inside the Octagon tomorrow night (Jan. 15) he’ll be looking to extend his winning streak to eight. Standing in his way will be former two-division Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champion B.J. Penn.
The two haven’t exactly been trading barbs, but Penn recently revved things up by claiming Rodriguez asked to fight him because he thought it would be easy. “El Pantera” is puzzled by Penn’s words and expressed his confusion at a media scrum.
“He’s an expert, like he said. He’s pretty good at what he does, and I respect him so much. The way that he talks isn’t going to change the way that I think about him. He said he’s a professional and he’s been in dozens of fights, and he’s acting like an amateur for now. For me, I’m not mad with him.”
“I never asked for this fight. I don’t know who told him that, but it’s some fight that the UFC offered me and I accepted just like he did. I don’t know who created that lie, but I didn’t ask for this fight.”
“The Prodigy” is a UFC Hall of Famer and easily the biggest name “El Pantera” has ever encountered. Despite the accolades Penn has earned throughout his career, Rodriguez plans to treat him as he would anyone else.
“It’s an honor, but he’s a human being. I respect everyone else, it could be the President. I’d respect him the same way I respect you. It doesn’t matter who it is, I’m gonna respect them the same way.”
Tomorrow’s UFC Fight Night prelims will begin at 8 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (FS1). The action will continue on the same network at 10 p.m. ET.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mq0psjm4f3I
When Yair Rodriguez steps foot inside the Octagon tomorrow night (Jan. 15) he’ll be looking to extend his winning streak to eight. Standing in his way will be former two-division Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champion B.J. Penn.
The two haven’t exactly been trading barbs, but Penn recently revved things up by claiming Rodriguez asked to fight him because he thought it would be easy. “El Pantera” is puzzled by Penn’s words and expressed his confusion at a media scrum.
“He’s an expert, like he said. He’s pretty good at what he does, and I respect him so much. The way that he talks isn’t going to change the way that I think about him. He said he’s a professional and he’s been in dozens of fights, and he’s acting like an amateur for now. For me, I’m not mad with him.”
“I never asked for this fight. I don’t know who told him that, but it’s some fight that the UFC offered me and I accepted just like he did. I don’t know who created that lie, but I didn’t ask for this fight.”
“The Prodigy” is a UFC Hall of Famer and easily the biggest name “El Pantera” has ever encountered. Despite the accolades Penn has earned throughout his career, Rodriguez plans to treat him as he would anyone else.
“It’s an honor, but he’s a human being. I respect everyone else, it could be the President. I’d respect him the same way I respect you. It doesn’t matter who it is, I’m gonna respect them the same way.”
Tomorrow’s UFC Fight Night prelims will begin at 8 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (FS1). The action will continue on the same network at 10 p.m. ET.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) flyweight John Moraga is no stranger to adversity. The battle tested mixed martial arts (MMA) veteran has said he’s been viewed as an underdog in not just his career, but his life.
His bout with Sergio Pettis at tomorrow night’s (Jan. 15) UFC Fight Night event is no exception. Moraga will be competing in his hometown, but oddsmakers are slightly favoring Pettis.
Perhaps Moraga’s back-to-back losses to Joseph Benavidez and Matheus Nicolau have left some doubt in the minds of those oddsmakers. At a recent media scrum, Moraga said it’s all part of the fight business.
“This is the fight game. You can call it inconsistent, but this is what we do. (Those losses) happened to me. I’m not overlooking him at all. I know he’s tough, he’s well-rounded, he’s good everywhere but so am I. So let’s go.”
It’s clear that Moraga has his sights set on his upcoming bout. If he suffers his third straight defeat, he knows the possibility of receiving a pink slip from the UFC is indeed real. So much so, that he said he was “fighting for his life” against Pettis.
At the scrum, Moraga said his past has prepared him for these kind of situations.
“The pressure’s on me in a sense, but I don’t let it get to me. I feel like I actually perform best when I’m under pressure. My back’s been against the wall, even before I got to the UFC. I was never supposed to get here, and I was never supposed to stay here, so let’s do it.”
UFC’s upcoming Fight Night event takes place inside the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix. Arizona. The main event will feature a featherweight showdown between UFC Hall of Famer B.J. Penn, who is coming out of retirement, and Yair Rodriguez.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqeJIScfSbo
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) flyweight John Moraga is no stranger to adversity. The battle tested mixed martial arts (MMA) veteran has said he’s been viewed as an underdog in not just his career, but his life.
His bout with Sergio Pettis at tomorrow night’s (Jan. 15) UFC Fight Night event is no exception. Moraga will be competing in his hometown, but oddsmakers are slightly favoring Pettis.
Perhaps Moraga’s back-to-back losses to Joseph Benavidez and Matheus Nicolau have left some doubt in the minds of those oddsmakers. At a recent media scrum, Moraga said it’s all part of the fight business.
“This is the fight game. You can call it inconsistent, but this is what we do. (Those losses) happened to me. I’m not overlooking him at all. I know he’s tough, he’s well-rounded, he’s good everywhere but so am I. So let’s go.”
It’s clear that Moraga has his sights set on his upcoming bout. If he suffers his third straight defeat, he knows the possibility of receiving a pink slip from the UFC is indeed real. So much so, that he said he was “fighting for his life” against Pettis.
At the scrum, Moraga said his past has prepared him for these kind of situations.
“The pressure’s on me in a sense, but I don’t let it get to me. I feel like I actually perform best when I’m under pressure. My back’s been against the wall, even before I got to the UFC. I was never supposed to get here, and I was never supposed to stay here, so let’s do it.”
UFC’s upcoming Fight Night event takes place inside the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix. Arizona. The main event will feature a featherweight showdown between UFC Hall of Famer B.J. Penn, who is coming out of retirement, and Yair Rodriguez.
Talks of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight champion Conor McGregor fighting boxing great Floyd Mayweather have taken the mainstream media by storm. Many have been talking about the fantasy m…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdIelCZ8Swk
Talks of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight champion Conor McGregor fighting boxing great Floyd Mayweather have taken the mainstream media by storm. Many have been talking about the fantasy match-up as if it has already been announced. Of course, nothing has materialized.
While the mainstream audience is eating the hype up, hardcore fans aren’t amused. A lot of fight purists would rather see McGregor defend his lightweight title than entertain a boxing match.
MMAJunkie interviewed four fighters on the main card of Sunday night’s (Jan. 15) UFC Fight Night card in Phoenix. Those fighters were Ben Saunders, Court McGee, Joe Lauzon, and Marcin Held. They were all asked if they wanted to see McGregor and Mayweather compete in a boxing bout.
“Killa B” said he doesn’t mind “Notorious” dabbling in the world of boxing, but he’d like to see him relinquish the title if he goes that route:
“On a personal level, I wanna see him defend the title. If he goes over to boxing, then more power to him. I’ll watch it just like you said, but I would hope that he would respect the sport enough to give his title away or up for grabs, so there’s no more interim this. And then if you choose to come back, you choose to come back. Just like if Georges St. Pierre comes back, you fight for the title. It would be an immediate match for that.”
Lauzon isn’t optimistic about McGregor’s chances inside a boxing ring against “Money.”
“I don’t think it would be super competitive, honestly. I think Floyd is night and day ahead of Conor in boxing just the way Conor’s night and day ahead of Floyd in jiu-jitsu and MMA and grappling and wrestling.”
McGee admitted he would tune in to see the bout.
“I mean of course I would watch it. I mean, I don’t know who wouldn’t watch it.”
