It was much the ‘Old Guard’ vs. ‘New Blood’ at UFC Phoenix on Sunday night, with a ceremonial passing of the torch in the main event.
Yair Rodriguez picked apart Hall of Famer B.J. Penn inside two rounds whilst Marcin Held outwrestled UFC veteran Joe Lauzon but lost a split-decision.
Yair Rodriguez dismantles B.J. Penn
The event which took place in Phoenix, Arizona saw Penn look like a shadow of his former self after over two years on the sidelines as rising star Rodriguez showcased his talents. Rodriguez found his range early on, landing some explosive kicks on Penn as the 38-year-old tried to work on the inside.
The Mexican went from strength to strength as the round went on, showing off his dynamic kicking which has helped him become one of the top rising stars in the UFC. The former two-division champion Penn showed his great chin and heart but looked far beyond his prime surviving the onslaught from “El Pantera” in round one.
Rodriguez made quick work of Penn in the second round, a front kick followed up by a straight right hand dropped Penn to the canvas before the 24-year-old delivered some ground and pound leaving referee John McCarthy no choice but to step in to call an end to the fight.
This display saw Rodriguez claim a ‘Performance of The Night’ bonus, but he reamined full of praise for his opponent during his post-fight interview. “I fought a legend tonight,” said Rodriguez. “He deserves all of the respect, more than the one I give him. I just want to say thank you so much to BJ Penn for accepting the fight with me.”
https://twitter.com/btsportufc/status/820903614877147136
Joe Lauzon disagrees with being awarded win over Marcin Held
After seemingly losing the first round of their Lightweight bout, Held outwrestled Lauzon in the remaining two rounds and looked to have done enough to walk away with the win. However not according to the judges’ scorecards. Despite being rocked early in the first, Held went on to dominate the majority of the fight from top position landing five takedowns. Lauzon kept the Pole on his toes, locking in a tight armbar which demanded the full attention of his opponent late in round two. Held scored another takedown finishing the fight in top position and looked to have done enough to be awarded the win.
Despite being awarded the split-decision victory Lauzon spoke of his disagreement with the result:
“I didn’t think I won the fight, I thought I had the first round, but then I thought he took the second and third. The second could’ve been what they gave to me, but I did not think that I won at all. It was 100 percent him.”
The Ezekiel choke makes its mark in UFC history
Aleksei Oleinik also known as “The Boa Constrictor” scored a submission win over Viktor Pesta to give him his 41st career victory via submission and his 10th via Ezekiel choke. This marked the first win via Ezekiel choke in UFC history with Oleinik now holding a record of 3-1 under the UFC banner.
Oleinik pushed the pace early on as the Russian Heavyweight looked to engage immediately while trying to get his opponent to the ground. Despite this, it was Pesta who secured the first takedown of the fight; with Pesta on top, Oleinik allowed his opponent to move into the mount which is usually a dominant position. In this case the transition worked perfectly to Oleinik’s advantage as Pesta jumped into the mount allowing the 39-year old to lock in an Ezekiel choke from the bottom.
https://twitter.com/btsportufc/status/820911029626535936
Official UFC Fight Night 103 results:
Yair Rodriguez def. B.J. Penn via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 0:24
Joe Lauzon def. Marcin Held via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
Ben Saunders def. Court McGee via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Sergio Pettis def. John Moraga via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Drakkar Klose def. Devin Powell via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Augusto Mendes def. Frankie Saenz via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Aleksei Oleinik def. Viktor Pesta via submission (Ezekiel choke) – Round 1, 2:57
Tony Martin def. Alex White via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Nina Ansaroff def. Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 3:39
Walt Harris def. Chase Sherman via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 2:41
Joachim Christensen def. Bojan Mihajlovic via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 2:05
Cyril Asker def. Dmitrii Smoliakov via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:41
