What’s the story?
BJ “The Prodigy” Penn is returning to the octagon this weekend to face rising star Yair “El Pantera” Rodríguez in Phoenix, Arizona. Penn is coming out of retirement for the second time and is looking to kickstart a run to the title by beating the #10 ranked Rodríguez.
Penn believes he will come back and match his form from over a decade ago when he won both the UFC lightweight and welterweight titles by working with a new coaching team at the famous Jackson-Wink Academy in New Mexico.
Penn is confident that his long break won’t affect him, and speaking with MMA Fighting he said:
“A lot of people are going to be surprised when I get out there. It’s going to look like a professional against an amateur. That’s what’s going to happen”
There could be some animosity in the build up to this fight as Rodríguez left the Jackson-Wink gym to train in Chigago, Illinois and Penn says that some of his gym-mates told him that Yair is looking to fight him because he is older, and a big name.
”Some people at the gym said ‘Hey, Yair is a p***y, he’s going to try and fight you because he thinks you’re older”
In case you didn’t know...
This isn’t Penn’s (16-10-1) first comeback from retirement, in 2014 he returned to fight Frankie Edgar for the third time, and lost. He retired again after that fight and a year later was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. Now, he’s back again.
Also read: What's Up With Your Mans, BJ Penn?
His opponent, Yair Rodríguez (9-1) is undefeated inside the UFC with five wins and no losses, and his jumping switch kick knockout of Andre Fili at UFC 197 was one of the best of 2016. He is climbing up the rankings fast, and it remains to be seen if “The Prodigy” will be the one to slow him down.
The heart of the matter
Penn hasn’t fought in in two years and is 1-5-1 in his last seven fights albeit being against the best of the best. On the other hand, Rodríguez is a young prospect rising up the ranks with lots of motivation and energy.
Penn actually believes this will work in his favour as he thinks Rodríguez and his coaches are being complacent and brushing him off because he is old and without a win recently.
Penn was quoted as saying:
“Yair is going to be surprised, his coaches are going to be surprised.”
What’s next?
Penn fights Sunday, 15th January, against Rodríguez and he has his odds listed in some places at 4:1, his longest ever.
Penn wants one more run at the title to become a three-weight world champion, but first he needs to overcome an unpredictable top ten opponent. After this fight, we will be better able to judge how far and for how long the former champion can go.
Sportskeeda’s take
Penn’s future as a fighter depends on this fight, he hasn’t won in his last four fights against top-five fighters, a new division to conquer could be the motivation he needs but if he can’t beat the young fringe top ten fighters of the featherweight division, it might be time to hang up the gloves permanently.
All remains to be seen on Sunday in Phoenix.
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