BJ Penn Comes Out Of Retirement Tonight (And Will Likely Go Back A Few Hours Later)
Later tonight, “The Prodigy” BJ Penn will make his return to the octagon, and it’s probably going to be pathetic. We MMA fans have joked about the return of a “Motivated” BJ Penn forever, but at this stage of his life, there’s no amount of motivation that’s going to bring him to defeat Yair Rodriguez, one of the fastest rising featherweights in the world.
I actually like this matchup, because I’m a big Yair guy, and I think 2017 BJ Penn is a super easy fight for him to throw some ninja shit and pick up some new fans. Yair Rodriguez’s last fight, a split decision victory over Alex Caceres, flew under the radar but was a great fight of the year contender. It looked like a video game where both guys were just button mashing flippy shit, and that’s what Yair does best. He’s got unreal cardio that allows him to hit as many spinning/flipping/ninja combos as he wants. Check out this gif and tell me you’re not intrigued by this dude.
#UFCPhoenix pic.twitter.com/UEqnOvXdA1
— Streetfight Bancho (@streetfitebanch) January 9, 2017
If you’re one of those guys who’s still sticking by BJ after all the shit that’s gone down over the last few years, whether it be his horrible final few performances in the cage, or the many controversies that have happened with his shitty website, he’s a hype video for you. I’ll give respect where it’s due, and he used to be an absolute savage. Key words here, though, are “used to be”.
Now the fight I’m actually looking forward to the most on this card is Joe Lauzon vs Marcin Held. Joe Lauzon is my favorite fighter of all time, and Marcin Held is another dude, much like Yair, who is a rising prospect. Joe’s reached a point in his career where he can be considered a top tier gatekeeper of the lightweight division, and this fight is going to put Marcin to the test. Held’s coming off a unanimous decision loss in his UFC debut against Diego Sanchez, who Lauzon destroyed at UFC 200. I’m picking Lauzon here for sure, but I don’t think it’ll be as one sided as the main event, and I’ll also probably never pick against him. War Lauzon through and through.
If you’re new to MMA and want to learn a little about Joe Lauzon, being I just called him my favorite fighter of all time, he documents every fight week with mini-documentaries on YouTube, and they are super well done. Here’s the playlist for this week.
As for the other two fights on the main card, I’ve got Sergio Pettis and Ben Saunders picking up the W’s. Both really close, really intriguing fights though.
P.S. I understand you’re all going to be watching Sunday Night Football while this card is going on, so follow me on Twitter at @RobbieBarstool if you want updates/vines. Double up on concussion sports intake. Why not?