Daniel Rodriguez (born December 31, 1986) is an American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

who competes in the

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. A professional mixed martial artist since 2015, Rodriguez has also competed in Bellator,

King of the Cage King of the Cage (KOTC) is a mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in Southern California, United States. History KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock. KOTC features mostly amateur as well as up and coming MMA stars and former mainstr ...

, and Combate Americas.

Background

According to Rodriguez, he grew up in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

in a gang affiliated family, alternating between the

hood Hood may refer to: Covering Apparel * Hood (headgear), type of head covering ** Article of academic dress ** Bondage hood, sex toy * Hoodie, hooded sweatshirt Anatomy * Clitoral hood, a hood of skin surrounding the clitoris * Hood, a flap of ...

and jail system while continuously getting into fights in both. Without any sports background, Rodriguez began training boxing and eventually mixed martial arts in his mid-twenties.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Rodriguez compiled a 7–0 amateur record as a Welterweight from late 2013 to 2015. Rodriguez later began his professional career in 2015, competing mainly in Combate Americas, with a one off fight at Bellator 170. Eventually racking up a 8–1 record, he competed on Dana White's Contender Series 22, however he did not earn a UFC contract through his unanimous decision win against Rico Farrington. Afterwards, he won the Smash Global Welterweight Championship, before he was given a UFC contract.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Rodriguez made his promotional debut on February 15, 2020 at

UFC Fight Night 167 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

as a late replacement for Ramazan Emeev against

Tim Means Timothy Carl Means (born February 20, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist from Moriarty, New Mexico currently competing in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2004, ...

. Rodriguez won the fight via submission in the second round. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award. Rodriguez was expected to face

Kevin Holland Kevin Alan Holland (born November 5, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the welterweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2015, Holland has also competed f ...

on May 30, 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Woodley vs. Burns .However, On May 26, Holland was forced to withdraw from his scheduled bout with Daniel Rodriguez due to an injury and he was replaced by promotional newcomer Gabriel Green Rodriguez won the fight via unanimous decision. Rodriguez was expected to face Takashi Sato on August 22, 2020 at UFC on ESPN 15. Despite making the required weight, Sato was not cleared to fight by

Nevada State Athletic Commission The Nevada State Athletic Commission (also known as the Nevada Athletic Commission or NSAC) regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of Nevada, including licensure and supervision of promoters, boxers, kickboxers, ...

medical personnel and he was replaced by Dwight Grant whose opponent, Calen Born, was pulled from the same event for undisclosed reason. After being knocked down in the beginning of the fight, Rodriguez knocked Grant down multiple times enroute to a first-round knockout win. Rodriguez was expected to face

Bryan Barberena Bryan Paul Barberena (born May 3, 1989) is an American mixed martial artist currently fighting in the Welterweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2009, he has also competed for King of the Cage. B ...

on November 14, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 183. However, Barberena underwent an emergency

laparotomy A laparotomy is a surgical procedure involving a surgical incision through the abdominal wall to gain access into the abdominal cavity. It is also known as a celiotomy. Origins and history The first successful laparotomy was performed without ...

a week before the event, resulting in the fight being cancelled. Rodriguez instead faced

Nicolas Dalby Nicolas Dalby (born November 16, 1984) is a Danish mixed martial artist who is currently fighting in the Welterweight division of Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional since 2008, he is both a former Welterweight and interim welterwei ...

, replacing Orion Cosce, on November 21, 2020 at UFC 255. He lost the close fight via unanimous decision. 9 out of 20 media outlets scored the fight for Rodriguez. Rodriguez faced Mike Perry on April 10, 2021 at

UFC on ABC 2 ''UFC on ABC: Vettori vs. Holland'' (also known as ''UFC on ABC 2'' and ''UFC Vegas 23'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 10, 2021 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nev ...

. He won the bout via unanimous decision. Rodriguez was scheduled to face Abubakar Nurmagomedov on July 17, 2021 at UFC on ESPN 26. However, Nurmagomedov was forced to withdraw from the event, citing injury. He was replaced by promotional newcomer Preston Parsons. Rodriguez won the fight via technical knockout in round one. Rodriguez faced Kevin Lee on August 28, 2021, at UFC on ESPN: Barboza vs. Chikadze. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Rodriguez was scheduled to face

on September 10, 2022, at

UFC 279 ''UFC 279: Diaz vs. Ferguson'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 10, 2022, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United S ...

in a 180-pound catchweight bout. However, the day of the weigh-ins, Khamzat Chimaev missed weight for his welterweight main event bout with Nate Diaz by seven-and-a-half pounds. As a result, the UFC was forced to change the card around. Rodriguez instead faced Li Jingliang, who was originally scheduled to face Tony Ferguson in the co-main event in a welterweight bout. Rodriguez's bout with Jingliang remained at a 180-pound catchweight. He won the back-and-forth fight via split decision. 21 out of 23 media scores gave it to Jingliang. Rodriguez was scheduled to face

Neil Magny Aoutneil "Neil" Jacques Magny (born August 3, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Welterweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional MMA competitor since 2010, Magny ...

on October 15, 2022 at UFC Fight Night 212. However, Rodriguez withdrew from the bout due to elbow infection. The bout was rescheduled for UFC Fight Night 214 on November 5. He lost the fight via D'Arce choke submission in the third round. Rodriguez is scheduled to face Gunnar Nelson on March 18, 2023, at

UFC 286 ''UFC 286: Edwards vs. Usman 3'' is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on March 18, 2023, at The O2 Arena in London, England. Background A UFC Welterweight Championshi ...

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

*Smash Global **Smash Global Welterweight Championship (One time) *

** Performance of the Night (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

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Justin Baesman Justin Baesman (born June 3, 1981) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division. A professional competitor since 2008, he has competed for Bellator, the World Series of Fighting, Tachi Palace F ...

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Professional boxing record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Daniel 1986 births Living people American male mixed martial artists American mixed martial artists of Mexican descent Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Mixed martial artists from California Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American male boxers American boxers of Mexican descent Boxers from California American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Alhambra, California