What’s the story?
UFC Hall of Famer B.J Penn is making is comeback to UFC at UFC Fight Night 103 live on Fox Sports 1. The man he is going to face in his comeback fight is an upcoming star Yair Rodriguez.
This is only the second time that The Prodigy has made the weight-cut to featherweight. The last time B.J. Penn was in the Octagon was against Frankie Edgar in 2014, where he suffered a TKO loss. He then retired from the UFC.
At the time of official weigh-ins Penn delivered at statement which will resonate for a long time to come. Staring down at his young opponent, the legend B.J Penn yelled in front of all the fans and media,
“They say it is Old School vs New School. Kicking ass is timeless.”
In case you didn’t know...
The prodigy has a professional MMA record of 16-10-2 (W-L-D). He is one of the few fighters of the modern era to make his pro-MMA debut in UFC. Penn was the first non-Brazilian to win a BJJ World title.
He is one of the pioneers who started fighting at different weight divisions and has fought as high as 205 pounds against Lyoto Machida. The Prodigy made three successful lightweight title defences before losing to Frankie Edgar.
Yair Rodriguez was a part of TUF Latin America season 1, where he came out as winner of the featherweight division. His professional MMA record is 10-1-0 (W-L-D), with three wins coming via knockout and has 4 first round finishes.
He is on a 7 win streak going against B.J Penn in UFC Fight Night 103.
The heart of the matter
The only other time The Prodigy found in featherweight division was the one in which he lost to Edgar just before his retirement. But this time around, Penn has surrounded himself with an elite group of training partners and coaches.
It seems to be paying off as the UFC Hall of Famer looked in top shape ahead of his fight. Penn has fought just 4 times since February 2011, out of which he has lost 3 and got a majority draw on the 4th one.
Yari Rodriguez is the younger of the two fighters. His fighting style is very aggressive and uses a wide range of flashy attacks. He made his debut in UFC 180 and since then has made a lot of fans because of his dynamic striking abilities and risk-taking style of fighting.
Sportskeeda’s take
Rodriguez is one of the most promising talents coming up in this weight division. Penn has been a legend of the sport and has been with the UFC for over 15 years. This fight is going to be an interesting one, although it does run the risk of being lopsided.
It will certainly be nostalgic to see The Prodigy back in the Octagon after a long time. Can the 38-year old UFC legend defeat the young and dynamic Rodriguez who is 14 years younger?
Or will this comeback be a short one for B.J Penn? Penn will definitely want to prove to everyone that age doesn’t matter if you have the heart to fight and that kicking ass is indeed timeless.
