UFC Fight Night 103 lineup again finalized with 13 bouts for rare Sunday card in Phoenix

With Friday’s announcement that Jimmie Rivera has a new opponent for his main-card opener, the lineup for UFC Fight Night 103 once again has been finalized.

Rivera (20-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) was slated to fight Bryan Caraway (21-7 MMA, 6-2 UFC) in a bantamweight fight to open the four-fight main card. With Caraway out with an injury, Rivera now takes on Marlon Vera (8-3-1 MMA, 2-2 UFC).

UFC Fight Night 103 takes place Jan. 15, a Sunday, at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix. The main card airs on FS1 following four preliminary-card fights on FS1 and an unusually big batch on UFC Fight Pass, which will stream the first five fights of the event. The rare Sunday event is owed to the second weekend of the NFL’s playoffs, which should be wrapped up by the time the UFC’s FS1 portion of the event begins.

In the headliner, Yair Rodriguez (8-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC), a fast-rising prospect who’s an honorable mention in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA featherweight rankings, looks for possibly the highest-profile win of his career. He takes on UFC Hall of Famer and former two-division champion B.J. Penn (16-10-2 MMA, 12-9-2 UFC), who comes out of retirement to fight for the first time since July 2014.

In the co-headliner, fan favorite Joe Lauzon (26-12 MMA, 13-9 UFC), who has a share of the record for most UFC fight-night bonuses, takes on former Bellator lightweight title challenger Marcin Held (22-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC). Also on the main card are welterweights Court McGee (18-5 MMA, 7-4 UFC) vs. Ben Saunders (20-7 MMA, 7-4 UFC).

In the featured prelim, No. 9-ranked flyweight John Moraga (16-5 MMA, 5-4 UFC) takes on Sergio Pettis (14-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC), who’s an honorable mention at 125 pounds and just outside the top 15.

The full UFC Fight Night 103 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (FS1, 10 p.m. ET)

• Yair Rodriguez vs. B.J. Penn
• Marcin Held vs. Joe Lauzon
• Court McGee vs. Ben Saunders
• Jimmie Rivera vs. Marlon Vera

PRELIMINARY CARD (FS1, 8 p.m. ET)

PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 6 p.m. ET)

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