What’s the story?
UFC Hall of Famer BJ Penn made his return to the Octagon to face the up-and-coming Yair ‘El Pantera’ Rodriguez at UFC Fight Night 103. The legend had surrounded himself with top coaches and elite training partners in preparation for this showdown. But, in spite of all the training, El Pantera proved too much for the 38-year old fighter on his comeback fight.
Rodriguez set the pace from opening bell in the first round and hammered Penn with all the moves in his arsenal. BJ Penn looked slow in the cage and was overwhelmed by the speed and power of the young Mexican fighter.
He struggled to keep up the entire first round, and fell prey to a volley of kicks and knees. Rodriguez made quick work of the legend and finished the fight with a kick to the head and straight right hand which dropped Penn, followed by a series of hammer fists.
At the 24-second mark of the second round, the referee had to step in and rescue BJ Penn from the onslaught. Rodriguez registered a win over the legend in a lopsided fight with a TKO.
Here is a look at the statistics of this fight: (source: entimports)
In case you didn’t know...
The last time BJ Penn tasted victory was in his fight against Matt Hughes, back in 2010 when he ended the fight with a first round KO. Since then he has fought five times and managed one draw against Jon Fitch at UFC 127, which was right after his victory against Hughes.
His last four fights were complete nightmares; Penn was outclassed and dismantled in each of them.
Yair Rodriguez is the winner of TUF Latin America season 1 and made his debut at UFC 180. With his recent victory, he is on an eight-fight win streak and is 6-0 in his UFC career. El Pantera has a very aggressive fighting style and has a wide range of kicks, which he utilises very effectively.
The heart of the matter
Normally, statistics do not depict the entire picture of the fight. In many fights, statistics tell a story that doesn’t accurately depict how the fight actually went. However, if we look at the statistics of this fight, it perfectly reflects how things actually went down inside the Octagon.
BJ Penn was completely dominated and Rodriguez landed a huge number of significant strikes to which Penn had virtually no reply.
What’s next?
Following the defeat in his comeback fight, many fighters and coaches believe that BJ Penn should retire for good. He is now 38-years old and too slow for the sport. No matter how hard he trains, it’s tough to fight against younger and faster fighters. There has not been any official announcement from his side regarding his future in MMA.
Sportskeeda’s Take
Regardless of how horrible his recent performances have been, BJ Penn will always be seen as a pioneer of the sport. He built his reputation around dreaming big and achieving the unthinkable.
His warrior’s heart and determination is a source of inspiration to many young fighters. Even now at the age of 38, Penn made a return to the Octagon to further his legacy. We have nothing but respect for the legendary fighter, who shaped the way for UFC.
As for Yair Rodriguez, he is one of the most exciting upcoming fighters in UFC. El Pantera is still undefeated in the UFC and is riding on an eight-win streak. He is definitely one of the upcoming contenders to the Featherweight title. After his amazing display against BJ Penn, he surely deserves tougher opponents to climb up in the rankings.
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