Penn vs Rodriguez Preview and Predictions – McKee Picks

BJ Penn returns to the cage for the first time in several years.  He is considered one of the greatest of all time in MMA History, however after a lay off of 2 plus years, he will have his work cut out for him.

Penn is also coming in riding the cusp of a 3 fight losing streak.  His opponent Yair Rodriguez is  The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America featherweight winner.

Rodriguez is 9-1 in his MMA career, but also 5-0 since entering the UFC.  He will move to 6-0 this evening/

Official Pick – Yair Rodriguez by decision.

 

Joe Lauzon vs Marcin Held

You can never count out Joe Lauzon, you just can’t.  He hits hard and can take a hit.  He is a UFC veteran of 22 UFC fights and a staple of stability in the organization.  He wants to prove he is more then a gatekeeper tonight however.

He will have his hands full with Held who is coming off of a loss to Diego Sanchez, but still very talented.  Held did most of his damage while in Bellator and entered the UFC with a lot of steam.  He will look to, and will get his career back on track tonight with a knockout over Lauzon in the second round.

 

An exciting fight on the card will be UFC Ultimate Fighter Winner Court McGee doing battle with wiley UFC veteran Ben Saunders.  This is a make or break fight for both fighters who careers have hit stumbling blocks at times since both appearing on The Ultimate Fighter.

Saunders has a deadly array of submissions and knockouts to his credit, however I see McGee pulling this one off in a tightly contested split decision.

The main card is rounded out with a excellent Flyweight clash.  It will be contested between local boy John Moraga and Sergio Pettis.  Moraga was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. He attended Maryvale High School and then went to college at Arizona State University.

While at College, he became a two-time University Freestyle All-American wrestler. He has struggled as of late however, going 5-4 in the UFC and losing his last two in a row.

His opponent Sergio Pettis who we all know has championship pedigree in his blood.  He is the younger brother of former UFC Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis.  If Sergio is trying to get out of his older brothers shadow, he is off to a good start.  Sergio is 14-2 overall and 6-2 in the UFC.

I look for Pettis to continue to surge tonight with a win of the local hero via second round submission.

 

Agree or Disagree?  Let me know in the comment section below.