UFC Fight Night 103 staff picks: Anyone picking heavy 'dog B.J. Penn to get first win since 2010?

It’s a new year and a clean slate for our staff members when it comes to picking fights.

In 2016, MMAjunkie columnist Ben Fowlkes became our third different champion in three years, joining 2014 winner Mike Bohn and 2015 winner Dann Stupp with clip art trophies next to their names in the grid above. Who will rise to the occasion in 2017 and take the title? We take the first step on that journey this weekend with UFC Fight Night 103.

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

In the main event, UFC Hall of Famer and former two-division champion B.J. Penn (16-10-2 MMA, 12-9-2 UFC) comes out of retirement for a featherweight fight against rising star Yair Rodriguez (8-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC). Rodriguez is a heavy 5-1 favorite in the fight, and to little surprise he is an 8-1 selection from our nine MMAjunkie editors, writers and radio hosts.

In the co-feature, Joe Lauzon (26-12 MMA, 13-9 UFC) is only a -140 favorite over former Bellator standout Marcin Held (22-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC), but all nine of our pickers believe Lauzon will be able to get his hand raised over his fellow lightweight submission specialist.

In another close fight as far as the oddsmakers are concerned, Ben Saunders (20-7 MMA, 7-4 UFC) is a 6-3 pick over Court McGee (18-5 MMA, 7-4 UFC) in their welterweight fight. And to open up the main card, former flyweight title challenger John Moraga (16-5 MMA, 5-4 UFC) is a 5-4 pick over Sergio Pettis (14-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC), even though he took the fight on short notice.

In the MMAjunkie reader consensus picks, Rodriguez, Lauzon, Saunders and Pettis are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

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

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