UFC Fight Night 103's Yair Rodriguez: I can't say whether B.J. Penn should retire

PHOENIX – Although B.J. Penn appeared badly outgunned at UFC Fight Night 103, Yair Rodriguez said the Hall of Famer should decide his next step.

Asked whether he thinks Penn should go back into retirement, Rodriguez said, “I don’t know, man. I can’t say that. I can’t be the one picking that out.”

Rodriguez (9-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC), an honorable mention in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA featherweight rankings, decimated Penn (16-11-2 MMA, 12-10-2 UFC) before stopping him 24 seconds into the second round at Sunday’s FS1-televised event at Talking Stick Arena in Phoenix. It was his sixth straight UFC win.

Penn, meanwhile, landed just three significant strikes to Rodriguez’s 65. The former lightweight and welterweight champ hasn’t won a fight since knocking out Hall of Famer Matt Hughes in 2010.

Penn was a massive underdog heading into the fight with Rodriguez, but the 24-year-old rising star stressed again that he treated his opponent like any other.

Penn tried beforehand to stoke a rivalry by saying Rodriguez wasn’t seasoned enough to give him a good fight, but Rodriguez didn’t take the bait.

“I was ready to die or to win,” Rodriguez told MMAjunkie. “I talked to him after the fight, and he said, ‘Hey man, no disrespect, this is part of the game. I said all this stuff because it’s part of the strategy. But all due respect.’ I told him, ‘Hey man, listen, I know it’s part of the strategy.’ We all do the same thing in different ways. So I’m not mad at him, he’s not mad at me, and I respect him even more right now after I fought him.

“He’s a legend and a powerful guy, and I’m pretty happy to have the victory.”

Even as Rodriguez was thumping Penn in the first seconds of the second round, he said he was wary of Penn’s ability to come back and noted a few hard right hands he took in the first round. He didn’t think the stoppage was late.

“I don’t think so, and less with a guy like B.J.,” Rodriguez said. “He’s a legend. When I started punching him on the ground, he was moving. So I was being careful of him up-kicking me or grabbing a submission. When I saw the referee stop the fight, it was an amazing moment.”

Rodriguez declined to name an opponent he’d like to face in his next bout. But there’s no question his star is on the rise.

As for what happens with Penn, he said that’s none of his business.

“It’s part of his life and his career,” Rodriguez said. “It’s up to what he wants to do. I felt he was strong, but it’s up to him what he wants to do. I can’t pick.”

Check out the above video to hear more from Rodriguez. Or to see the full interview click on the video below.

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