Former two division UFC champion BJ Penn returned to the octagon at last weekend\u2019s UFC Fight Night 103 event in Phoenix, Arizona.<\/p>\n
The UFC Hall of Famer, Penn, squared off with surging featherweight contender Yair Rodriguez in the evening’s main event.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately for fans of \u201cThe Prodigy\u201d, after a decent opening two minutes, Rodriguez caught Penn with a hard kick to the body that appeared to stun the UFC legend.<\/p>\n
Yair followed up that strike with a relentless barrage of kicks before the horn sounded to end the opening round of action.<\/p>\n
Then shortly in to the second round, Rodriguez caught BJ with a front kick followed by a punch that sent Penn down to the canvas.<\/p>\n
The combination marked the first time that BJ Penn had been knocked down in his illustrious career and Rodriguez was quick to capitalize on the historic moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cPantera\u201d followed up with some solid ground and pound and after a heavy volume of strikes the referee stepped in and stopped the contest.<\/p>\n
Former UFC fighter and Penn\u2019s long time friend, Phil Baroni, recently spoke with BJPENN.com\u2019s Chris Taylor about \u201cThe Prodigy\u2019s\u201d loss to Rodriguez at UFC Fight Night 103.<\/p>\n
Baroni believes that Penn can still be one of the best fighters on the planet, but thinks that BJ should learn some new tricks and fight some mid-tier fighters before jumping in against another top ten opponent like Yair Rodriguez.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was a tough comeback fight for BJ. No matter how much you spar and train in the gym it is a different game when you step in under the bright lights of the main event for the UFC.\u201d<\/p>\n
He continued:<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to see BJ come back man. Hopefully go and train at Jackson\u2019s for a full camp. If BJ could incorporate a solid double-leg takedown into his arsenal and maybe some new kicks he could still be one of the very best in my opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Do you agree with Phil Baroni\u2019s assessment? Would you like to see BJ Penn return for at least one more fight against a mid-tier UFC fighter? Sound off in the comments section!<\/p>\n