If you missed the initial airing of UFC Fight Night Phoenix’s “Countdown” show on FOX Sports 1 (FS1), don’t fret. The official YouTube channel of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has rolled out the…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZmxJOoh8p0
If you missed the initial airing of UFC Fight Night Phoenix’s “Countdown” show on FOX Sports 1 (FS1), don’t fret. The official YouTube channel of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has rolled out the entire replay.
Sunday’s (Jan. 15) UFC Fight Night event will take place inside the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. The main event will feature a featherweight clash between a thriving prospect and a UFC Hall of Famer. Yair Rodriguez will be vying for the biggest win of his career when he goes toe-to-toe with B.J. Penn.
This will be the first time “El Pantera” will do battle with a former world champion. His last opponent was Alex Caceres in a bout that earned both men a “Fight of the Night” bonus. Rodriguez emerged victorious to extend his winning streak to six.
On the other hand, Penn is coming out of retirement. “The Prodigy” chose to hang up his gloves after getting smoked by Frankie Edgar in their third encounter. The retirement lasted less than three years. Penn’s last win was in Nov. 2010. He knocked out Matt Hughes in 21 seconds. Penn has gone 0-3-1 in his last four bouts.
The co-main event will see battle tested veteran Joe Lauzon compete for the 39th time in his career to take on former Bellator mainstay Marcin Held in a lightweight clash. Ben Saunders will return to the UFC to meet The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) season 11 winner Court McGee.
Bantamweight Jimmie Rivera pulled out of the card despite initially agreeing to face would-be replacement Marlon Vera. “El Terror” was going to face Bryan Caraway, but “Kid Lightening” went down with a shoulder injury. As of this writing, there has been no word on if the main card slot will be filled.
The prelims begin at 8 p.m. on FS1. The action continues at 10 p.m. ET with the main card.
One of MMA’s fastest-rising prospects will look to score his biggest-ever win over one of its most storied champions ever when Yair Rodriguez meets BJ Penn in the main event of next Sunday’s January 15, 2017) UFC Fight Night 103 from Talking Stick Resort in Phoenix, Arizona. Potentially a future featherweight title contender, “El Pantera” has
One of MMA’s fastest-rising prospects will look to score his biggest-ever win over one of its most storied champions ever when Yair Rodriguez meets BJ Penn in the main event of next Sunday’s January 15, 2017) UFC Fight Night 103 from Talking Stick Resort in Phoenix, Arizona.
Potentially a future featherweight title contender, “El Pantera” has stormed into the UFC with five wins in a row, the first winning him The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Latin America tournament championship. His flashy style and wild, yet well-rounded game comprise all the makings of a superstar, and a big name who may not be so dangerous anymore is the perfect launching pad for Rodriguez to further his scope.
After unceremoniously retiring in July 2014 after his third loss to Frankie Edgar, former lightweight and welterweight champion Penn has been attempting to return to fighting since January of 2016. He was scheduled to fight Dennis Siver at last April’s UFC 197, but an investigation into some serious criminal allegations put his return on hold until June’s UFC 199, where Penn couldn’t make the fight due to injury. “The Prodigy” then admitted to using an IV – something that’s now banned under USADA guidelines – and was subsequently suspended for six months.
When that punishment was over, Penn was then scheduled to face perennial top contender in the main of last October’s UFC Fight Night 97 from the Philippines. He pulled out due to injury again, and the entire card was ultimately canceled. Needless to say, it’s been a rocky path to a return for the man many felt was the best pound-for-pound MMA athlete for some time, and with five losses in his last six, he has his hands full with the dynamic striking of one of MMA’s most touted newcomers.
That makes for an intriguing future vs. past match-up that would boost the victor very significantly, although hardly in the same fashion. In preparation, watch the full Countdown to UFC Fight Night 103: Rodriguez vs. Penn here:
The main event of next Sunday night’s (Jan. 15) UFC Fight Night event in Phoenix will feature a featherweight clash between a prospect and a legend. Rising 145-pounder Yair Rodriguez will look to continue his surge when he meets Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Hall of Famer B.J. Penn.
When Rodriguez steps inside the Talking Stick Resort Arena to compete, he will be doing so against a former two-division champion. “El Pantera” spoke with MMAJunkie.com to discuss the importance of this bout:
“Fighting B.J. Penn is a pretty big deal. He’s already a two-time world champion in two different weight classes, so it makes it a pretty big deal for me, a pretty big test for my career. It’s a good opportunity to be tested by the UFC and see if they want to give me the title shot soon or not. I think this fight puts me in a good position for that title shot if I win.”
There’s a belief that the Mexican bruiser sought after a bout with Penn. Rodriguez denied ever asking to fight “The Prodigy.”
“B.J. is saying that I asked for this fight, and I never asked for this fight. I don’t know who told him that. The UFC just offered me the fight, and I said yes, so here we are, preparing ourselves to get in a war on Jan. 15. I don’t know who told B.J. that I was asking for the fight, but he is wrong.”
Regardless of whether Rodriguez asked or not, the fight will play out inside the Octagon. A win for Penn would be his first since Nov. 2010 when he knocked out Matt Hughes in 21 seconds. Penn has gone 0-3-1 since that time and is coming out of retirement.
Rodriguez has only suffered defeat once in nine bouts. In his eight victories, “El Pantera” has two knockouts and one submission. His last fight was a split decision win over Alex Caceres in a “Fight of the Night” performance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWyDHpwNlRA
The main event of next Sunday night’s (Jan. 15) UFC Fight Night event in Phoenix will feature a featherweight clash between a prospect and a legend. Rising 145-pounder Yair Rodriguez will look to continue his surge when he meets Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Hall of Famer B.J. Penn.
When Rodriguez steps inside the Talking Stick Resort Arena to compete, he will be doing so against a former two-division champion. “El Pantera” spoke with MMAJunkie.com to discuss the importance of this bout:
“Fighting B.J. Penn is a pretty big deal. He’s already a two-time world champion in two different weight classes, so it makes it a pretty big deal for me, a pretty big test for my career. It’s a good opportunity to be tested by the UFC and see if they want to give me the title shot soon or not. I think this fight puts me in a good position for that title shot if I win.”
There’s a belief that the Mexican bruiser sought after a bout with Penn. Rodriguez denied ever asking to fight “The Prodigy.”
“B.J. is saying that I asked for this fight, and I never asked for this fight. I don’t know who told him that. The UFC just offered me the fight, and I said yes, so here we are, preparing ourselves to get in a war on Jan. 15. I don’t know who told B.J. that I was asking for the fight, but he is wrong.”
Regardless of whether Rodriguez asked or not, the fight will play out inside the Octagon. A win for Penn would be his first since Nov. 2010 when he knocked out Matt Hughes in 21 seconds. Penn has gone 0-3-1 since that time and is coming out of retirement.
Rodriguez has only suffered defeat once in nine bouts. In his eight victories, “El Pantera” has two knockouts and one submission. His last fight was a split decision win over Alex Caceres in a “Fight of the Night” performance.
It’s a new year and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is gearing up for its first event of 2017. The card will take place from the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona on Jan. 15. Former t…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BZIC635XVs
It’s a new year and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is gearing up for its first event of 2017. The card will take place from the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona on Jan. 15. Former two-division UFC champion B.J. Penn will come out of retirement to face surging featherweight Yair Rodriguez.
The card will also see lightweight veteran Joe Lauzon do battle with former Bellator competitor Marcin Held. Welterweights Court McGee and Ben Saunders will also share the Octagon. Rising bantamweights Jimmie Rivera and Bryan Caraway are expected to open up the main card.
Free fights are starting to roll out in anticipation of the event. This time, the UFC turns back the clock with an August 2009 title bout. Then champion Penn defended his title for the second time against Kenny Florian in the UFC 101 headliner.
“The Prodigy” was coming off a disappointing TKO loss to George St. Pierre in a super fight for the welterweight championship. Penn quit on his stool with four lopsided rounds in the books and decided to stay at 155 pounds to defend his title. His opponent was “KenFlo.”
Florian earned his title opportunity by going on a six-fight winning streak. He finished five of his opponents in that stretch, with four of those stoppages coming by submission. “KenFlo” had a knack for locking in a rear-naked choke on his foes.
Fans were excited to see what Florian had to offer and how Penn would respond to being dominated less than seven months prior. “The Prodigy” showed the world why he was still one of the best fighters in the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA).
The challenger was outmatched on the feet and his takedown attempts went nowhere. Instead, it was the champion who took the fight to the ground. Penn locked in a rear-naked choke in the fourth round to force the tap and he retained his championship.
On Thursday, UFC released the above video trailer for their upcoming return event in Phoeniz, Arizona.
Headlined by the return of MMA legend and UFC Hall Of Famer BJ Penn against tough contender Yair Rodriguez and featuring Joe Lauzon vs. Marcin Held and Court McGee vs. Ben Saunders, UFC Fight Night 103 takes place live from the Talking Stick Resort arena in Phoenix, Arizona on January 15, 2017.
Featured above is the new UFN 103 trailer via the UFC’s official Twitter page.
Join us here at MMANews.com on 1/15 for a recap of the UFC Fight Night 103 event.
2016 is coming to a close, and another year of mixed martial arts (MMA) competition will soon be in the books. This year has given us some great memories in fighting; some historic, some spectacular, and some just plain amazing. One of the most exciting parts of MMA are the vicious knockouts fans tune in to
2016 is coming to a close, and another year of mixed martial arts (MMA) competition will soon be in the books. This year has given us some great memories in fighting; some historic, some spectacular, and some just plain amazing.
One of the most exciting parts of MMA are the vicious knockouts fans tune in to see every week, and 2016 has presented plenty highlight reel KOs that we’ll never forget.
To commemorate those bouts, we’ve compiled a list of the best knockouts that we’ve seen this year, so let’s dive into LowKick’s top 10 MMA knockouts of 2016….
12. Paige VanZant vs. Bec Rawlings
Following her fifth-round submission loss to Rose Namajunas in December of last year, Paige VanZant took a little break from mixed martial arts (MMA) competition to compete in the 22nd season of Dancing With The Stars.
After finishing the competition as the runner-up, VanZant made her return to fighting action against Bec Rawlings, who was coming in off of a two-fight win streak that included a submission win over Lisa Ellis.
VanZant opened up the second round of her bout with Rawlings with a flashy maneuver that would land and send the Vancouver crowed into a frenzy, as the Team Alpha Male star landed a flush jumping head kick on Rawlings and finished her off with a few punches.
The jaw-dropping knockout earned VanZant her seventh professional win of her MMA career, and No. 12 on our list of top knockouts of 2016.
12. Paige VanZant vs. Bec Rawlings