Former two-division champion and MMA legend B.J. Penn’s return to the cage seemed ill-fated in 2016, as three comeback fights were scrapped for a variety of reasons. Now it appears that he will indeed fight again, as he takes on featherweight rising star Yair Rodriguez in Phoenix, Arizona on Sunday.
Penn (16-10-2) has not fought since 2014, where he lost a brutally one-sided fight to Frankie Edgar in his featherweight debut. The former welterweight and lightweight champion has not won a UFC bout since he beat Matt Hughes in 2010.
Rodriguez (8-1) is Penn’s opposite: young and on the rise rather than aged and attempting a comeback. He has built a reputation as one of the 145 lb. division’s most exciting young prospects, having won all five of his UFC bouts. He last beat Alex Caceres in August in his first UFC main event. Earlier in 2016 he knocked out Andre Fili with a flying switch kick.
Check out the Countdown show to Penn vs. Rodriguez to see the Hawaiian legend prepare for his comeback while the Mexican prospect trains for the biggest fight of his life.