B.J. Penn’s return to the UFC was difficult to watch.
The UFC Hall of Famer was dominated by rising featherweight contender Yair Rodriguez in the main event of a UFC Fight Night event in Phoenix.
The speed advantage for Rodriguez was evident early as he rocked Penn with a head kick and again with a wheel kick within the opening minute of the first round. Rodriguez then brutalized Penn with a plethora of crisp, violent kicks to the head and body.
Penn somehow managed to survive the first five minutes but at the very beginning of the second round Rodriguez dropped Penn with a front kick followed by a right hand. He proceeded to pummel Penn with punches and hammerfists until the referee mercifully stopped the action.
Rodriguez improved to 6-0 in the UFC in the 145-pound division and at age 24 the sky is the limit for the talented Mexican.
Penn, a former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion, hadn’t fought since suffering a one-sided TKO loss to Frankie Edgar in July 2014. The 37-year-old is just 1-6-1 since 2009 and it’s unclear what the future holds for the Hawaiian.
In the co-main event, fan favourite Joe Lauzon earned a controversial split decision victory over former Bellator title challenger Marcin Held.
“That was not my fight. I disagree 100 per cent,” Lauzon said after the decision was announced. “That was Marcin’s fight. Not my fight.”
Held, 24, is now 0-2 in the UFC.
Oleksiy Oliynyk made some UFC history in a featured preliminary bout against Viktor Pesta. Oliynyk, 39, tapped out Pesta with an Ezekiel choke. It was the first time we’ve ever seen a fight in the Octagon finished with that particular submission.
Nina Ansaroff, a training partner and the girlfriend of UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes, snapped a three-fight losing streak and defeated Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger by submission.
The night began with three fights featuring six large men. Cyril Asker earned a TKO win over Dmitri Smoliakov in heavyweight action then rising light-heavyweight Joachim Christensen ended Bojan Mihajlović’s night with a massive uppercut.
Walt Harris knocked out fellow heavyweight Chase Sherman with a fluid combination.
Here are the complete results from UFC Phoenix:
MAIN CARD
— Yair Rodriguez def. B.J. Penn by TKO
— Joe Lauzon def. Marcin Held by split decision
— Ben Saunders def. Court McGee by unanimous decision
— Sergio Pettis def. John Moraga by unanimous decision
PRELIMINARY CARD
— Drakkar Klose def. Devin Powell by unanimous decision
— Augusto Mendes def. Frankie Saenz by split decision
— Oleksiy Oliynyk def. Viktor Pešta by SUB (Ezekiel choke)
— Tony Martin def. Alex White by unanimous decision
— Nina Ansaroff def. Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger by SUB (rear-naked choke)
— Walt Harris def. Chase Sherman by KO
— Joachim Christensen def. Bojan Mihajlović by TKO
— Cyril Asker def. Dmitri Smoliakov by TKO
