The 38-year-old B.J. Penn has plenty of UFC success on his resume, but he was no match for the 24-year-old Yair Rodriguez on Sunday at UFC Fight Night 103 in Phoenix's Talking Stick Resort Arena.
Rodriguez defeated Penn via a technical knockout in the second round of the headlining fight. Elsewhere, Joe Lauzon prevailed against Marcin Held in a controversial split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28) that even the victor disagreed with after the fight.
Ben Saunders defeated Court McGee via a unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) by doing enough in the early stages to stave off a comeback attempt, and Sergio Pettis handled John Moraga via a unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) in a fight that went distance but was never really in doubt.
Here is a look at a breakdown for all four main-card battles.
B.J. Penn vs. Yair Rodriguez
Jesse Holland of SB Nation's MMA Mania noted Penn competed in his first event since the summer of 2014 on Sunday. The rust was evident against Rodriguez.
Rodriguez won by TKO in the second round after thoroughly dominating the fight. He overwhelmed the former UFC champion with an array of kicks and punches and finished the job after knocking Penn to the floor in the early stages of the second round.
The glaring disparity between the two fighters was crystal clear in the first round. Rodriguez unleashed his aggressive kicks and kept Penn on his back foot throughout the early going, especially when a couple of the head kicks landed.
UFC Phoenix shared Rodriguez's incredible athleticism:
Head Kick! @PanteraUFC #UFCPhoenix pic.twitter.com/NiZ3X1evwU
— #UFCPhoenix (@ufc) January 16, 2017
Bloody Elbow said "Penn has that deer-in-the-headlights look," and that was even more the case in the second round when Rodriguez knocked the American to the ground with a kick and started pounding him with punches.
The official stepped in from there and called the fight after Rodriguez teed off on Penn. Fox Sports UFC passed along the critical moment:
OH. MY. GOODNESS. ??????@panteraufc demolishes BJ Penn to claim #UFCPhoenix!https://t.co/3wilhSIS36
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) January 16, 2017
Shaheen Al-Shatti of MMA Fighting said, "That was really hard to watch." He added, "That should've been stopped far sooner."
There was never a doubt from the opening moments Rodriguez was the better fighter in their current forms, and he earned the TKO as a result.
Joe Lauzon vs. Marcin Held
Lauzon earned the split-decision win over Held (27-30, 29-28, 29-28), but even the fighter himself didn't agree.
"That was not my fight," Lauzon said, per MMA Fighting. "I 100 percent disagree with that decision. That was Held's fight."
Despite his own assessment, Lauzon went for a finish in the first couple of minutes and unleashed a flurry of elbows on Held. To Held's credit, he stood strong and absorbed the early blows before landing a takedown and flipping some of the momentum.
Lauzon appeared to win a back-and-forth, action-packed first round by a narrow margin, but Held notched another takedown almost immediately in the second round.
Held then escaped an armbar attempt, but Bloody Elbow said, "Probably 19-19 after two, but that armbar attempt from Lauzon was the best offense of the round."
Held scored a takedown in the third round but allowed Lauzon to get back up without establishing much offense. He finished the fight with another, which Fox Sports UFC said was his fifth of the evening, but there wasn't much offense from Held outside of those takedowns.
Lauzon was ultimately given the win, but Jonathan Snowden of Bleacher Report said he gave Held the edge in every round. Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting reflected on the proceedings:
Gotta love @JoeLauzon. Wins a close split decision, then says he disagrees w/ the call and thought he lost. Tough break for Marcin Held.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 16, 2017
Alas, the judges had the final call and said Lauzon was the better fighter.
Court McGee vs. Ben Saunders
Saunders started quickly behind a handful of body kicks and rode the momentum to the victory over McGee via a unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Neither fighter made significant progress in the opening minutes with no takedowns or many significant blows. However, Saunders' body kicks made the early difference and helped him set the tone.
McGee applied more pressure in the second round as he attempted to close within boxing range, but the 6'2" Saunders' kicking and defense kept his 5'11" opponent at bay. Saunders also landed a couple of knees to the body when McGee pushed late in the round.
Saunders was the aggressor at the start of the third round with more kicks, but McGee landed the first takedown of the fight and appeared to build his first serious edge.
McGee took control from his on-top position and prevented Saunders from making much happen down the stretch. To McGee's credit, he turned around a slow start with a strong finish, but it wasn't enough.
Saunders' quick start proved to be key for the judges, who awarded him with the win.
John Moraga vs. Sergio Pettis
Pettis handled Moraga with relative ease via a unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27). Al-Shatti noted the loss marked Moraga's third straight defeat.
Pettis wasted little time dictating the tempo. He kept Moraga at arm's length for most of the early going and then unleashed a couple of hard blows when they were exchanging punches.
Fox Sports UFC noted, "Pettis has found a home for his jab and has already cut Moraga under his left eye," and also said Pettis was landing punches "at will" by the end of the first round after a knockdown.
There was less action in the second round after Pettis and Moraga threw the early hammers. From Moraga's perspective, a closer second round was likely good news after a slow start, but he was running out of time to make an impact.
Moraga notched a quick takedown in the third round and built some momentum, but he wasn't able to take advantage of it. Pettis bounced back and landed a takedown right at the end of the round and all but secured the victory before the official decision.
Bloody Elbow weighed in on Pettis' showing:
This has been exactly the poised performance Pettis needs. Hurt Moraga, but stayed collected all throughout. #UFCPhoenix
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) January 16, 2017
The 23-year-old youngster earned his third straight win with the result.
