Yair Rodriguez completely crushed BJ Penn from start to finish in the main event of UFC Fight Night 103 tonight, showcasing all of his striking skills as he picked the legendary fighter apart prior to a TKO stoppage early in the second round.
Round One:
The main event of the evening is underway!
Hard body kick from Rodriguez to start. Rodriguez goes for a leg kick that misses and sends him slightly off-balance as Penn moves and clinches up with Rodriguez against the cage.
Rodriguez able to spin out and get back to striking range. Left hand for Penn. Rodriguez with a big kick upstairs that doesn’t land.
Rodriguez with a spinning attack and upstairs with the kick again as he really tests Penn’s defense.
Right hand for Penn as Rodriguez also lands. They clinch and Rodriguez lands a knee. Penn staggers back on a big kick upstairs from Rodriguez. Another is blocked, but Penn’s in some trouble here.
Flying knee from Rodriguez. Clinching now with another knee. Penn looks like he’s quickly running out of ideas as Rodriguez overwhelms him with every trick in the book.
Hard body kick for Rodriguez. Now a leg kick that takes Penn off his feet for a moment.
Spinning head kick lands, but Penn remains standing! Brutal first round for Penn, but he does land a punch there cleanly.
More kicks from Rodriguez though, powerful blows that are making a big impact.
Kick upstairs and then a front kick from Rodriguez. Now a spinning backfist. This is a showcase of striking from the Mexican against a legend that’s well past his best.
The horn sounds and that’s a relief as Penn is just getting hammered here. One-way traffic.
Round Two:
A grazing front kick and then a right hand behind it from Rodriguez drops Penn almost immediately. Rodriguez blasting away with ground and pound and Penn’s just trying to survive.
Referee ‘Big’ John McCarthy giving Penn every opportunity here, but there’s no way out of this onslaught and that’s it, the fight’s been called and Rodriguez gets a flawless victory.
A lot of people were cringing at the thought of Penn returning and taking another beating and sadly that’s exactly what happened here. Even if he ever did get the urge to comeback again after this, you can’t imagine that Dana White would allow it. Penn has got old, the game has evolved, and Rodriguez is part of an exciting new breed of MMA talent rising up through the ranks in style.
