BJ Penn is coming back!
‘The Prodigy’ is making his long-awaited return to the Octagon and he will face Dennis Siver, Cole Miller, Ricardo Lamas, Yair Rodriguez in his first fight since July 2014.
Penn (16-10-2) announced his intention to resume his career earlier this year but saw bouts against the above opponents called off due to issues ranging from injuries to investigations into sexual assault to the confession of use of an IV.
But yet another opponent for the former UFC welterweight and lightweight champion has been selected, with official confirmation from the UFC revealing that Penn was set to take on up-and-coming prospect Yair Rodriguez in the main event of UFC Phoenix on January 15.
#UFCPhoenix lands EPIC featherweight main event as #UFCHoF's BJ Penn battles promising prospect @PanteraUFC! Pre-Reg:https://t.co/O7tXGftsZF pic.twitter.com/nIyC3ERvxy
— UFC (@ufc) November 21, 2016
Penn, a UFC hall-of-famer, hasn’t fought in over two years and made the decision to hang up his gloves after losing three consecutive fights for the first time in his career.
But he is reinvigorated under the tutelage of esteemed coach Greg Jackson and he will meet flashy striker Yair Rodriguez in the Phoenix headliner.
SPECTACULAR! @panteraufc KOs @TouchyFili with a jumping roundhouse kick! 👊 #UFC197 https://t.co/2vXOgdeSPh
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) April 24, 2016
Rodriguez (8-1) has established himself as one of the most exciting young fighters in the stacked UFC featherweight division and most recently claimed a five-round split decision over fellow creative striker Alex Caceres in August.
Can Penn prove that he is still relevant amongst ranked 145lbers? Will the bout act as something of a changing of the guard as a legend falls to a future contender?
We just hope that both men make it to fight night.
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