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Tag: UFC Fight Night 103

  • (Archives) Rodriguez On BJ Penn Fight: It Wasn’t A Late Stoppage (2017)

    The following article was published on this day five years ago. It is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.

    [ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JANUARY 16, 2017, 10:41 AM]

    Headline: Rodriguez On BJ Penn Fight: ‘I Don’t Think It Was Late Stoppage

    Yair Rodriguez’s first fight of 2017 was a successful one. “El Pantera” shared the Octagon with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Hall of Famer B.J. Penn last night (Jan. 15). It was a one-sided destruction in favor of Rodriguez.

    The first round saw the Mexican bruiser throw out multiple kicks that kept “The Prodigy” backing up. Early on, Penn tried to keep his opponent against the fence, but Rodriguez got out with ease. From there on, he kept his frenetic offense going.

    In the second round, Rodriguez landed a front kick followed by a straight punch that dropped Penn. He followed up with some vicious ground-and-pound. The fight was stopped by referee “Big” John McCarthy 24 seconds into the round.

    Some felt the stoppage should’ve come sooner. In a backstage interview with Megan Olivi, Rodriguez disagreed:

    “I don’t think so. He was moving and even though he was in danger, I knew he was pretty good. And throwing those upside kicks and all that stuff so I was just trying to be careful with that. If I stop a little, he’ll probably stand up. He’s a guy who has a lot of experience. You cannot play around with that. So you gotta take a chance, if you have the chance you take it a hundred percent.”

    During his post-fight interview, Rodriguez didn’t call anyone out specifically. He explained why.

    “I’m a real contender in the featherweight division. I don’t have nothing to bring. I don’t wanna ask for no fighters. I’m not the type of fighter to ask for other opponents. I don’t pick my guys. I don’t pick my guys and say, ‘oh I think I can win against this guy,’ no. I’m just gonna wait and see what the UFC wants to bring next. They know their plans and I’m just here.”

  • Archives: BJ Penn to Fighters: ‘Make Yourself The Money Fight’ (2017)

    The conversation surrounding fighter pay has continued into the new year as expected. Earlier this week, Sean O’Malley stated that he understands why Dana White doesn’t provide better pay for the fighters who do not draw well. On this day five years ago, we ran a story where UFC Hall of Famer BJ Penn gave all fighters a bit of advice.

    The following article is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.

    [ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JANUARY 9, 2017, 7:40 PM]

    Headline: BJ Penn to Fighters: ‘Make Yourself The Money Fight’

    Author: Fernando Quiles Jr.

    Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Hall of Famer B.J. Penn knows a thing or two about marquee fights.

    “The Prodigy” competed against Georges St. Pierre in a super fight at UFC 94. Penn was the reigning lightweight champion, while “Rush” held the welterweight title. The pay-per-view (PPV) buy rate was estimated at 920,000. Penn’s base salary was $125,000.

    A lot has changed since that time and the money has increased. For example, Max Holloway and Anthony Pettis got paid $150,000 to show for their interim title fight at UFC 206. The PPV was only estimated to have done 150,000 buys. Those certainly aren’t buys you’d expect for a super fight, yet both men got paid more than Penn did back in 2009.

    Reigning lightweight champion Conor McGregor has played a significant role in some fighters’ change in thinking. With the amount of money “Notorious” makes ($3,500,000 base salary for UFC 205), many competitors, including Tyron Woodley, have tried holding off potential contenders in favor of big money fights.

    Penn isn’t thrilled with the new craze. He told FOX Sports that fighters should become the attraction rather than beg to face one:

    “I’ll tell you this, I’m not the guy to go out there and say ‘oh give me this money fight, give me that money fight. I look at all these guys doing that and I’m like why don’t you go knock out 100 guys and become the money fight yourself? “(Expletive) (expletive).”

    “The Prodigy” will come out of retirement on Sunday (Jan. 15) to face soaring prospect Yair Rodriguez. The bout will be headlining the next UFC Fight Night card. It’ll be Penn’s second fight in the featherweight division. A win over “El Pantera” would be his first in over six years. The action takes place inside the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. The main card will begin at 10 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (FS1).