Penn vs. Rodriguez: Past and future collide, fight card details

THE PAST AND future will collide when UFC returns to Phoenix for the first time since 2013, headlined by the comeback of one of its biggest stars at UFC FIGHT NIGHT: RODRIGUEZ vs. PENN.

Two-time UFC champion BJ Penn makes his return to the Octagon after a brief retirement to face arguably the sport’s most dynamic young featherweight, No. 11 Yair Rodriguez, in a five-round main event, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2017 at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The event will air live on FS1.

Rodriguez, 24, (9-1; fighting out of Chicago, Illinois) is a highlight reel waiting to happen, having earned Fight of the Night or Performance of the Night bonuses in three of his last four bouts. A winner of seven consecutive fights, including the TUF LATAM in 2014 as a member of Team Velasquez, the taekwondo black belt knows that a victory over the Hall of Famer Penn would help him gain notice around the world.

The 37-year-old Penn (16-10-2; fighting out of Hilo, Hawaii) competes for the first time since July 2014. One of only three fighters in UFC history to win championships in multiple divisions (Randy Couture, Conor McGregor), ‘The Prodigy’ has both UFC welterweight and lightweight titles on his resume. Penn has recorded seven wins by KO and six by submission, and was the first non-Brazilian to win a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world championship at the black belt level.

Additional bouts:

• A welterweight bout between veterans Court McGee (19-5; fighting out of Orem, Utah) and Ben Saunders (19-7-2; fighting out of Orlando, Florida)
• A battle between ascending lightweights Erik Koch (15-4; fighting out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin) and Tony Martin (10-3; fighting out of Boston, Massachusetts)
• A heavyweight battle between former college basketball player Walt Harris (8-5; fighting out of Coconut Creek, Florida) and former college football player Chase Sherman (9-2; fighting out of D’Iberville, Mississippi).
• Polish veteran Damian Grabowski (20-4; fighting out of Opole, Poland) clashes with Viktor Pesta (10-3; fighting out of Prague, Czech Republic) in a heavyweight bout.
• Bojan Mihajlovic (10-4; fighting out of Odzaci, Serbia) will drop down to light heavyweight to face Joachim Christensen (13-4; fighting out of Copenhagen, Denmark).
• Advanced wrestling skills will be on display when Russian heavyweight Dmitrii Smoliakov (8-1; fighting out of Kaliningrad City, Russia) faces Cyril Asker (7-2; fighting out of Avignon, France).
• A lightweight bout between Devin Powell (8-1; fighting out of  South Berwick, Maine) and Jordan Rinaldi (12-5; fighting out of Charlotte, North Carolina)

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