10 reasons to watch Sunday's UFC Fight Night 103, including B.J. Penn's oft-delayed return

from MMA Junkie on Jan 13, 2017
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On Sunday, B.J. Penn looks to earn his first victory since knocking out Matt Hughes in 21 seconds in November 2010.

Since that win, Penn has fought Jon Fitch to a draw, dropped decisions to Nick Diaz and Rory MacDonald and most recently lost to Frankie Edgar by TKO. He also retired twice and saw his latest comeback delayed several times.

Penn’s opponent at UFC Fight Night 103, Yair Rodriguez, has been more active, and more successful than Penn over the last few years. He’s currently on a seven-fight winning streak dating back to February 2013 and is close to breaking into the top 15 of the featherweight division.

Like the headliner, the co-main event at UFC Fight Night 103 features a veteran against a young upstart. In that matchup, Joe Lauzon, one of the longest tenured lightweights in the UFC, meets Marcin Held, who fights for the second time inside the octagon.

UFC Fight Night 103 takes place at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix. The card airs on FS1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

Here are 10 reasons to catch all the action.

1. Lofty aspirations

It’s been close to a year since Penn announced he was returning to the UFC, and after three false starts, the 38-year-old meets 24-year-old Rodriguez in Phoenix.

Penn’s first foray at featherweight, his July 2014 matchup against Edgar, did not go well. Penn never mounted any significant offense during that fight and by the time referee Herb Dean waved things off, Penn’s face was a bloody mess.

Despite that one-sided beating, Penn believes he can make a run at the featherweight title. Greg Jackson, one of the best coaches in MMA, also believes Penn has “two or three more years in him.”

A title run might be ambitious thinking, but if Penn (16-10-2 MMA, 12-9-2 UFC) earns a victory over the surging Rodriguez (8-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC), he’ll have the ammunition to request a top-15 opponent for his next fight.

2. A lot on the line

Rodriguez is one of the most exciting fighters on the UFC roster. His wild, fast-paced striking style, which features a high percentage of spinning techniques, has not only been fun to watch, it’s been effective, earning him five UFC victories and three fight-night bonus awards.

Rodriguez, an honorable mention in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA featherweight rankings, won’t gain much in those rankings with a win over Penn, but a victory will raise his profile and increase his marketability. However, if Rodriguez loses to Penn, he’s likely to fall in the rankings and lose a considerable amount of shine with fans and the UFC marketing department.

In the big picture this fight might seem unimportant, but a loss or even an unimpressive victory could prove disastrous for Rodriguez.

3. Getting the right mix in his mixed martial arts

Held entered the UFC with a reputation as a top-notch submission artist. After his first fight with the promotion, a unanimous decision loss to Diego Sanchez, Held has some questions to answer.

Held tried to utilize his submissions against Sanchez, but Sanchez was prepared and easily stifled the leg lock specialist.

Despite his lack of success on the ground, Held was reluctant to strike with Sanchez, despite having success in that department early.

With that experience behind him, it’ll be worth watching if Held’s coaches have worked on increasing the confidence in his striking. Held (22-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC) cannot be a one-trick fighter when he faces Lauzon (26-12 MMA, 13-9 UFC) in Phoenix, because you know Lauzon, a wily veteran who is coming off a split-decision loss to Jim Miller, will be ready for Held’s ground game.

4. Back and focused

A second-round TKO loss in January 2016 ended Ben Saunders’ three-fight UFC winning streak. The next thing we heard from Saunders was that he was no longer with the UFC after a series of misfortunes in his personal life. By the time Saunders was ready to get back in the mix, the promotion had filled his roster spot. Saunders then fought outside the UFC, earning a 17-second submission win over Jacob Volkmann in September.

With his focus back on fighting, Saunders (20-7 MMA, 7-4 UFC) begins his third run in the UFC in Phoenix, where he faces Court McGee in a welterweight contest. McGee (18-5 MMA, 7-4 UFC) has alternated wins and losses in his past five bouts, most recently earning a decision over Dominique Steele.

5. Going all in

John Moraga

John Moraga opened his UFC career with two stoppage wins, earning a shot at flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson. Johnson submitted Moraga late in the fifth round of their 2013 fight. Since then, Moraga has gone 3-3, with losses in his past two outings. The No. 9 ranked Moraga (16-5 MMA, 5-4 UFC) is approaching his matchup against rankings honorable mention Sergio Pettis (14-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) as a do-or-die situation.

“You know, there’s nothing left for me,” Moraga told MMAjunkie Radio. “If I get cut from the UFC, there ain’t nothing else really in fighting for me, so I’m fighting for my life right here. This is everything. I’m all in.”

The thing to watch in the fight is if the pressure Moraga is placing on himself allows him to fight to win, or fight not to lose. Pettis enters the contest on a two-fight winning streak.

6. A different scenario

Augusto Mendes

Augusto Mendes’ UFC debut could not have gone any worse.

Mendes, an accomplished grappler, took a short-notice fight against Cody Garbrandt (before he was champion) on short notice, missed weight by six pounds, and was knocked out in the first round.

Now, with a full camp behind him, a confident Mendes hopes to show fans why, before signing with the UFC, he struggled to find opponents.

Mendes (5-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) faces Frankie Saenz in Phoenix. Saenz (11-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC) was on a seven-fight winning streak, but he’s tasted defeat in his last two outings, dropping a decision to Urijah Faber and losing by TKO to Eddie Wineland.

7. A lot to live up to

Nina Ansaroff

Following her win over Ronda Rousey at UFC 207, women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes said, “My girlfriend is right here. Nina Ansaroff is going to be the next UFC champion.”

With those words, Nunes put incredible pressure on Ansaroff (6-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC) ahead of her UFC Fight Night 103 strawweight bout against Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger (6-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC).

While Nunes has high expectations for Ansaroff, a title run seems pretty far off for either of these women, who are both 0-2 since joining the UFC.

8. The new guys

Drakkar Klose

Drakkar Klose might not be a name you’ve heard before, but as a member of the team at the MMA Lab he has experience against top-caliber lightweight competition, serving as a training partner for Benson Henderson for the past few years. Klose (6-0-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) makes his UFC debut in Phoenix against fellow UFC newcomer Devin Powell (8-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC).

Klose is unbeaten as a pro, but he’s never faced top-quality opposition outside of the gym, so despite praise from coach John Crouch, there are questions about Klose.

Powell enters the bout on a six-fight winning streak. He is the latest fighter to sign with the UFC after an appearance on the reality series “Dana White: Lookin’ for a Fight.”

9. New rules are in effect

Remember when Tim Means delivered two illegal knees to Alex Oliveira’s head at UFC 207 and no one seemed to know exactly how to interpret the rule regarding a downed opponent, despite that rule being in place for years? UFC Fight Night 103 marks the first UFC event at which the updated Unified Rules of MMA are in place. And while everyone hopes things will go smoothly, history tells us to be ready for some confusion.

Hopefully UFC Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner has a copy of the updated rules handy when the UFC commentary desk inevitably asks for his opinion.

10. Say hello to the host

The UFC isn’t wasting any time getting its newest broadcaster in the mix. Recent signee Todd Grisham, who has worked for the WWE, ESPN and most recently, GLORY, is on the FS1 studio desk for the event. Grisham works alongside middleweight champion Tyron Woodley and Kenny Florian. And if there’s one thing we can be sure of, it’s that the MMA world won’t be shy about critiquing Grisham’s performance on social media.