UFC Fight Night 103's Yair Rodriguez: I'm a different kind of animal – I'm a champion

At just 24 years old, Yair Rodriguez is one of the top prospects in the UFC’s featherweight division. But as he prepares to take on UFC Hall of Famer B.J. Penn, Rodriguez believes his future is now.

“I’m a champion,” Rodriguez told MMAjunkie. “Since I was a kid, I knew I was a champion. I know I’m different.

“I’m a different kind of animal. All the people around me know that. I know that.”

Rodriguez has certainly appeared to be something special in his UFC run thus far. After downing Leonardo Morales at UFC 180 to claim a tournament win at “The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America,” Rodriguez has gone on to rack up wins over Charles Rosa, Dan Hooker, Andre Fili and Alex Caceres, seemingly improving in each performance.

Now he’s been tapped to face Penn (16-10-2 MMA, 13-8-2 UFC) in a fight that Rodriguez (9-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) insists he wasn’t expecting – or seeking.

“B.J. is saying that I asked for this fight, and I never asked for this fight,” Rodriguez said. “I don’t know who told him that. The UFC just offered me the fight, and I said yes, so here we are, preparing ourselves to get in a war on Jan. 15. I don’t know who told B.J. that I was asking for the fight, but he is wrong.

“I actually never knew that he was coming back from his retirement until the UFC offered me the fight, so here I am, fighting B.J.”

Rodriguez and Penn briefly crossed paths at New Mexico’s famed Jackson Wink MMA Academy, but “El Pantera” said the two shared just a round or two of basic technique work.

“I was pretty happy to meet him,” Rodriguez recalled. “He didn’t know me back then. He actually thought that I was a Middle Eastern guy.”

Penn will certainly get to know Rodriguez up close and personal at UFC Fight Night 103, which takes place next Sunday at Talking Stick Resport Arena in Phoenix and airs on FS1.

Penn is unquestionably a legend of the sport, but he hasn’t fought since a July 2014 loss to Frankie Edgar and hasn’t had his hand raised since a November 2010 win over Matt Hughes.

Rodriguez isn’t worried about any of that. He expects a vintage Penn, and he looks forward to putting him away en route to what he considers his destint.

“Fighting B.J. Penn is a pretty big deal,” Rodriguez said. “He’s already a two-time world champion in two different weightclasses, so it makes it a pretty big deal for me, a pretty big test for my career. It’s a good opportunity to be tested by the UFC and see if they want to give me the title shot soon or not. I think this fight puts me in a good position for that tile shot if I win.

“First of all, I have to win against a legend. But he’s not just a legend, he’s a real life, bone-and-muscle guy in front of me trying to rip my head off. He has a lot of experience. He’s in the Hall of Fame. He knows what it takes to be a champion, and it’s a really big test for me, to fight a guy who knows what it takes to be a champion. It’s good for me. It’s good preparation. I know his guy is going to be hard to beat, but I don’t care. That’s what I’m here for, to fight the toughest guys in the world.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 103, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.