UFC Fight Night 103's 10 memorable moments: Rodriguez's arrival, classy 'J-Lau,' remembering 'Snacks'

In the lead-up to Sunday’s UFC Fight Night 103 main event, there was some talk that UFC Hall of Famer B.J. Penn was being disrespected by those who seemed to overlook the ex-champ’s pre-2009 accomplishments and instead focused on his post-2010 record of 1-5-1.

These exchanges were a reminder that fans are sometimes blinded by allegiance. They recall the monumental success of their idols but ignore the heartbreaking decline. That’s understandable. No one wants to see a hero forced unwillingly to pass the torch to the next generation.

If questions remained about Penn’s potential as a threat in the UFC in 2017, they were answered at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix. Yair Rodriguez, who earned a TKO win over Penn 24 seconds into Round 2, outclassed Penn, the former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion, in every way.

In the co-main event, a somewhat surprised Joe Lauzon earned a split-decision victory over Marcin Held.

Here are 10 memorable moments from UFC Fight Night 103.

Penn entered his featherweight fight against Rodriguez wearing his game face. Two minutes into the fight, Penn absorbed a head kick, and that look of intensity and focus began to fade visibly.

That kick was the moment Rodriguez (9-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) took control of the fight, and from that moment on, it felt like things were going to end badly for Penn (16-11-2 MMA, 12-10-2 UFC).

The end came early in the second round after Rodriguez dropped Penn with a front kick and a right hand to the chin. Once he hit the mat, Rodriguez finished things with a flurry of strikes on the ground.

It gave Rodriguez his sixth straight UFC win and third consecutive fight-night bonus. At just 24, Rodriguez’s future seems awfully bright.

As for Penn? The hope is he’ll retire for good after this, his fourth straight defeat.

When the horn sounded to end the lightweight bout between Lauzon and Held, the body language of the fighters was telling. Held stood, raised his hands, let loose with a shout of “Yeah!” and threw his mouthpiece in the air in celebration. Lauzon briefly kneeled on the mat, looking like a fighter who knew he was going to come out on the losing end of the decision.

However, when the scorecards were read, Lauzon (27-12 MMA, 14-9 UFC), who was taken down five times, outstruck and mostly controlled on the ground, was given the split-decision victory over Held (22-6 MMA, 0-2 UFC).

When his hand was raised, a surprised Lauzon shook his head and mouthed “no” before telling commentator Jon Anik that he “disagreed 100 percent” with the decision.

After the fight, Lauzon said he’d do his best to make sure Held remains on the UFC roster despite losses in his first two UFC bouts.

“I’ll be harassing (UFC matchmaker) Sean Shelby, (saying), ‘You’ve got to keep that guy around. He’s really, really good,’” said Lauzon.

Sergio Pettis picked up a fairly significant win by defeating former flyweight title challenger John Moraga by unanimous decision.

At just 23, Pettis (15-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) has won three straight fights, but more importantly, he continues to mature and grow as a fighter. He looked calm and at ease against the more experienced Moraga (16-6 MMA, 5-5 UFC), adjusting as needed on his way to victory.

The win over Moraga will only serve to boost Pettis’ confidence heading into his next fight, which Pettis hopes will come against well-regarded Jussier Formiga.

Drakkar Klose, a fighter out of The MMA Lab, made his UFC debut in Phoenix and looked good in earning a unanimous-decision win over fellow newcomer Devin Powell.

Klose, a training partner of former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson, took this fight on short notice, replacing Jordan Rinaldi in late December. Despite a short camp, Klose (7-0-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) dominated Powell (8-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) by using a good mix of striking techniques while controlling where the fight took place.

With his unbeaten record intact, the very confident Klose looks like a solid prospect. He’s likely to receive a step up in competition in his next outing.

UFC Fight Night 103 will go down in the record books as the first event in which a fight ended via Ezekiel choke. And while the submission shocked many watching the heavyweight fight between Aleksei Oleinik (51-10-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) and Viktor Pesta (10-4 MMA, 1-4 UFC), the winner seemed less than surprised with the way he won the fight.

“My opponent has a long neck, and when I looked at his fights, I saw he’s not good at protecting his neck,” Oleinik told MMAjunkie after the fight. “He’s a good wrestler, but because he’s a good wrestler, he thinks nobody can choke him.”

The victory, Oleinik’s 11th career win via Ezekiel choke, earned him his second “Performance of the Night” bonus in four UFC fights.

After defeating Ronda Rousey at UFC 207, UFC women’s champion Amanda Nunes told the crowd her girlfriend and training partner, Nina Ansaroff, will be the next strawweight champion.

At UFC Fight Night 103, Ansaroff (7-5 MMA, 1-2 UFC) took her first step toward turning that prediction into reality with a third-round submission win over Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger (6-4 MMA, 0-3 UFC). The victory was Ansaroff’s first in three UFC bouts.

After the fight, Ansaroff made a prediction of her own.

“2017 is going to be our year – mine and Amanda’s,” she said. “I’m going to take about a month off, but then I’m getting right back in there. I want to keep the momentum going.”

Walt Harris has struggled as a member of the UFC’s heavyweight division, but if his performance against Chase Sherman is any indication, those struggles may be behind him.

Harris’ striking was fast and crisp during this matchup, but most importantly, he mixed things up. It was that variety of strikes that helped Harris (9-5 MMA, 2-4 UFC) end the fight in the second round when he unleashed a brutal combination that dropped Sherman (9-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC) to the mat, where he put a bow on things with hammer fists.

After the fight, Harris said he feels the win is indicative of what you will see from him moving forward. If that turns out to be the truth, Harris could be a problem for other heavyweights.

In the first fight of the night, Cyril Asker (8-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) finished Dmitri Smoliakov (8-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) with a barrage of strikes from mount. It wasn’t the prettiest fight, but the French heavyweight made the most of his time on the microphone, telling Anik, “I want to kick every big ass.”

UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, who was the color commentator for UFC Fight Night 103, was practically giddy when given the job of reviewing the changes to the Unified Rules of MMA that went into effect on Jan. 1.

Care to guess which rule gave Cormier focused on?

“The second one. That’s the win for your boy ‘D.C.,’” Cormier said. “The moment you take that hand out toward your opponent, you are in violation of the rules of fighting.”

Cormier never mentioned his nemesis, former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones by name, but knowing that Jones has a history of using an outstretched hand to measure his opponents, it was evident why Cormier was so overjoyed with this particular rule change.

Adam “Snacks” Geller was part of the UFC production team. Sadly, Geller died this month after a two-year battle with colon cancer. Many have paid tribute to Geller on social media since the news of his passing. Without fail, those tributes mentioned Geller’s love of MMA, his sense of humor and his ability to draw a smile from anyone he met.

The UFC aired a video tribute to Geller during UFC Fight Night 103’s main card.

Geller was 39. He is survived by his wife and young daughter, and a GoFundMe campaign has been set up for his funeral expenses and daughter’s college education.

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 103, check out the UFC Events section of the site.