Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to the hurt business this Sunday night (Jan. 15, 2017) for UFC Fight Night 103: "Rodriguez vs. Penn," which takes place inside Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona, live on FOX Sports 1.
The promotion's latest mixed martial arts (MMA) card will feature a featherweight showdown pitting top division prospect Yair Rodriguez against legendary ex-champion BJ Penn, who makes his debut at 145 pounds. Elsewhere on the card, Joe Lauzon and Marcin Held hook 'em up for a spot in the 155-pound title chase.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Fight Night 103 fight card below, starting with the Fight Pass "Prelims" matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, and then the remaining undercard balance on FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET, before the main card start time at 10 p.m. ET, also on FOX Sports 1.
Keep in mind that we will also be the spot for the latest news, recaps, and post-fight analysis following "Rodriguez vs. Penn."
Without further delay, see below for the latest UFC Fight Night 103 results. (Note: This will go from the bottom up; therefore, scroll toward the bottom for the latest detailed round-by-round action.)
UFC FIGHT NIGHT 103 QUICK RESULTS:
Yair Rodriguez vs. BJ Penn
Joe Lauzon vs. Marcin Held
Court McGee vs. Ben Saunders
John Moraga vs. Sergio Pettis
Drakkar Klose vs. Devin Powell
Augusto Mendes vs. Frankie Saenz -- Mendes def. Saenz by split decision (28-29, 29-28 x2)
Aleksei Oleinik vs. Viktor Pesta -- Oleinik def. Pesta by submission (Ezekiel choke) at 2:57 of Round One
Tony Martin vs. Alex White --- Martin def. White by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Nina Ansaroff vs. Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger -- Ansaroff def. Jones-Lybarger by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:39 of Round Three
Walt Harris vs. Chase Sherman -- Harris def. Sherman by TKO (knee and punches) at 2:41 of Round Two
Joachim Christensen vs. Bojan Mihajlovic -- Christensen def. Mihajlovic by TKO (punches) at 2:05 of Round Three
Cyril Asker vs. Dmitrii Smoliakov -- Asker def. Smoliakov by TKO (punches) at 2:41 of Round One
UFC FIGHT NIGHT 103 PLAY-BY-PLAY:
145 lbs.: Yair Rodriguez vs. BJ Penn
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Round 4:
Round 5:
Final result:
155 lbs.: Joe Lauzon vs. Marcin Held
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
170 lbs.: Court McGee vs. Ben Saunders
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
125 lbs.: John Moraga vs. Sergio Pettis
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
155 lbs.: Drakkar Klose vs. Devin Powell
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Final result:
135 lbs.: Augusto Mendes vs. Frankie Saenz
Round 1: Saenz opens with low kicks. Mendes tries to flurry. Saenz whiffs on a flying knee. One minute in. Mendes grabs double underhooks, can't keep him down. Saenz goes low-high. Mendes lands on the break. Two minutes in. Low kick from Saenz. Short right from Mendes. More flurries, met by a knee. Two minutes to go.
Quick exchange. Saenz to the body. Great takedown by Mendes. Saenz slips out the back door and eats a flurry on the way up. One minute to go. They separate and Saenz goes back to the low kicks. 10-9 Mendes.
Round 2: Another quick series of striking exchanges. Counter left nearly drops Saenz and Mendes ties up. They separate. Saenz fires a knee and Mendes takes him down. Saenz pops right back up. One minute in. Suddenly, a huge elbow sends Mendes to his back and Saenz follows him down. He elects to let him back up. Two minutes in. Mendes tries a head kick. Low kick from Saenz and a looping right hand. Two minutes to go.
Mendes seems a little tired. Counter flurry. Good trade at point-blank. BIG right hand cracks Mendes, then a left hook behind it. Both connect right hands. Mendes to the body and he shoots. Saenz counters with a knee and elbow. One minute to go. They separate. Mendes with a glancing body kick. Saenz shoots for a late takedown, looking for a high-crotch, but Mendes stays up. 10-9 Saenz.
Round 3: Mendes looking more aggressive, lands a straight right and rocks Saenz again. Mendes swinging furiously, eats a knee. Saenz pressing him against the fence, slowing things down. One minute in. Saenz looking for elbows. They jockey for position. Good knee from Saenz. Mendes tries one before they separate, two minutes in. Quick exchange of right hands. Cracking right hand lands for Saenz. Left connects for him. Straight right by Mendes. Two minutes to go.
Mendes completes a takedown, Saenz pops up and presses him against the cage. Elbow from Saenz. Mendes denies a level change. Cuffing right hand lands for him as they separate. One minute to go. Left hook from Mendes. Mendes scores a takedown, again can't keep him down. Saenz reverses position and eats a left as they separate. 10-9 Mendes, barely.
Final result: Mendes def. Saenz by split decision
265 lbs.: Aleksei Oleinik vs. Viktor Pesta
Round 1: Right hand from Oleinik early on. Stiff jab. Check hook lands for Pesta and Oleinik shoots on the fence. Pesta reverses position. One minute in. Pesta completes a takedown into half guard. Pesta uses a cradle to prevent Oleinik from shooting on him on the way up. Two minutes in. He forces Oleinik back down and takes side control. Pesta moves to mount, only for Oleinik to lock up an Ezekiel choke and force the tap. Wow.
Final result: Oleinik def. Pesta by submission (Ezekiel choke)
155 lbs.: Tony Martin vs. Alex White
Round 1: Martin opens with a straight right and head kick attempt. He grabs double underhooks and presses White against the fence. Martin's cup breaks somehow and he gets some wolf whistles as they look for a replacement. They resume in the center. One minute in. Great exchange in the center. Martin shoots for a double-leg and White defends on the cage. He transitions to a single-leg and takes half guard, immediately looking for a Kimura. Two minutes in. Ground-and-pound from Martin on the cage. Two minutes to go.
Martin still looking for the Kimura. This one looks better and he passes to side control. He loses it. Martin looking for mount. One minute to go. White regains guard. Booming right hand by Martin before the bell. 10-9 Martin.
Round 2: Body kick from Martin, who gets dropped by a right hook. White on the attack. Martin hits a double-leg into guard. One minute in. Martin on top on the fence. He postures, can't pass. Now half guard two minutes in. White holding tight, not doing much to improve position. Full mount for Martin, two minutes to go.
White trying to use the cage, manages to do so and shoot in. He completes the takedown as Martin looks for a Kimura. White fights it off and they return to the feet, where Martin shoots again. One minute to go. Martin keeps him against the fence until the bell. 10-9 Martin.
Round 3: Martin shoots right away, hauling White to the cage. One minute in. Martin still grinding, landing some dirty boxing. Two minutes in. White threatens a guillotine to separate and lands a hook as they separate. White advancing with strikes, Martin puts him right back on the fence. Knees from Martin. Two minutes to go.
More clinchwork from Martin. White briefly threatens a front headlock. Martin continues to drive. One minute to go. Fight ends in the clinch. 10-9 Martin.
Final result: Martin def. White by unanimous decision
115 lbs.: Nina Ansaroff vs. Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger
Round 1: Jones-Lybarger aggressive early. Ansaroff flicking out kicks. Body kick lands and they trade rights inside. Combination lands for Jones-Lybarger. Hard punches inside by Ansaroff. Ansaroff pumping the jab, eats an overhand right. One minute in. Jones-Lybarger landing well. Ansaroff with a right inside. Good exchange. Jones-Lybarger low kick. Two minutes in. Ansaroff answers in kind. Straight left from Jones-Lybarger, who leans into some uppercuts. Ansaroff catches a leg kick and scores a takedown. Two minutes to go.
Jones-Lybarger landing off her back as Ansaroff stays heavy. Some sporadic ground-and-pound. One minute to go. Ansaroff postures for some solid shots before the bell. 10-9 Ansaroff.
Round 2: Jones-Lybarger still wading in with wide swings as Ansaroff looks for counters. A well-timed leg kick knocks Jones-Lybarger over and Ansaroff takes half guard. Jones-Lybarger attacking a Kimura, nothing there. One minute in. Ansaroff works her way to the back and looks for the choke. Handfighting ensues. Two minutes in. Jones-Lybarger tries to turn and Ansaroff looks for an arm-triangle. Jones-Lybarger re-surrenders her back to avoid it and eats right hands. Two minutes to go.
Ansaroff lands some thumping lefts and takes mount. Now the back again, still raining punching. Back to fighting for the choke, then more punches. One minute to go. Jones-Lybarger stands, looking to slip out the back door. She can't do it. More punches from "The Strina" before the bell. 10-8 Ansaroff.
Round 3: Low kick from Ansaroff. Jones-Lybarger still slinging punches. Uppercut from Ansaroff, Jones-Lybarger lands one inside. Jabs from Ansaroff and another nice uppercut. Jones-Lybarger shoots, stuffed and eats a right. One minute in. They trade near the fence. Hard right hand from Jones-Lybarger and Ansaroff knocks her down with a low kick to regain top position. Two minutes in. Full mount for Ansaroff. More punches, doing damage from the back. Two minutes to go.
Ansaroff gets the choke locked up. Jones-Lybarger fighting her hands, but can only do so for so long. Submission win for Nina Ansaroff.
Final result: Ansaroff def. Jones-Lybarger by submission (rear-naked choke)
265 lbs.: Walt Harris vs. Chase Sherman
Round 1: Harris flicks out a front kick to start. Sherman to the body, takes a right hook. Head kick attempt. Harris briefly ties up. More kicks from Harris. One minute in. Sherman again digs a right downstairs, then eats a body kick. Harris signals an eye poke, ref tells them to keep going. Straight left by Harris, body shot from Sherman. Two minutes in. Sherman with a leg kick, powerful combinations from Harris in return. Straight left dings Sherman. Right hook lands clean, as does a groin shot. They resume with two minutes to go.
Another hard right hook from Harris. Two right hands land for Sherman. Body shot. Low kick, one minute to go. Harris tries a body kick, lands a stiff jab. Straight left connects. 10-9 Harris.
Round 2: Sherman just misses a head kick, blocks a body kick and lands a body punch. Harris shoots in, stuffed. One minute in. Harris opens up with some heavy combinations. Savage blows and Sherman just absorbs them. Body kick lands for Sherman, who eats a jumping body kick. Big counter hook by Harris. Straight left. Two minutes in. Jab briefly turns Sherman into a PEZ dispenser. Left to the body. Savage combination and Sherman finally goes down. Wow.
Final result: Harris def. Sherman by TKO (knee and punches)
205 lbs.: Joachim Christensen vs. Bojan Mihajlovic
Round 1: Mihajlovic comes in swinging on the taller man. Front kick from Christensen. Low kick checked. They clinch up near the fence. One minute in. They separate. Hard counter right lands for Christensen; Mihajlovicis telegraphing winging punches and eats another counter right. Body kick from Christensen. Mihajlovic slips on a body kick and Christensen follows him into guard. Short elbows from the Dane. Mihajlovic just holding him closely, opens his guard as I type that and eats punches. Two minutes to go.
Short body blows by Christensen. He stands over Mihajlovic and drops a pair of hard punches. One minute to go. Referee stands them up. Mihajlovic tries an ugly wheel kick and walks into a knee. Short uppercuts from Christensen met by a right hand. Mihajlovic waves him on. Heavy knee by Christensen before the bell. 10-9 Christensen.
Round 2: Christensen advancing, counter left lands for him. Combination connects, then another and Mihajlovic ties up. He presses Christensen against the cage and lands knees. One minute in. Bigger knee from Christensen. They separate. 1-2 from Christensen and now he's pressing Mihajlovic into the cage. Another heavy knee to the body. Two minutes in. Accidental low blow from Christensen. Mihajlovic whiffs on a right hand, lands a body kick. Body kick from Christensen, who eats counters this time. Two minutes to go.
Mihajlovic getting amped, gets clinched. Both land in the clinch. Mihajlovic throwing and landing a bit more. Stiff cross by Christensen, then a thumping uppercut. One minute to go. Mihajlovic ties up on the cage. Christensen reverses and does some solid clinchwork. 10-9 Christensen.
Round 3: Christensen shoots and puts him on the fence. Dirty boxing from the Dane. He exits with a knee and right hand a minute in. Low kick from Christensen, Mihajlovic trips him up with a kick in return. Christensen does more damage in the clinch, then utterly lamps Mihajlovic with a brutal uppercut. A few more punches end the fight.
Final result: Christensen def. Asker by TKO (punches)
265 lbs.: Cyril Asker vs. Dmitrii Smoliakov
Round 1: Asker much lighter on his feet in the early going, lands a lead right. Front kick from SMoliakov and he denies a level change. One minute in. Body blows and an eyepoke from the Russian. They resume and Asker barrels in for a takedown, scoring an outside trip into side control. Smoliakov goes nuts with hammerfists from the bottom, but gets mounted. Asker postures up and goes to work with punches and hammerfists. Asker moving higher. Two minutes in. Smoliakov just covering up and Asker punches away. Smoliakov just barely fighting back. The blows just keep coming and the referee steps in.
Final result: Asker def. Smoliakov by TKO (punches)