Nicholas "Nick" Rodriguez, commonly known as Nicky Rod (born August 30, 1996) is an American professional submission grappler and
Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting ( ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...
(BJJ) athlete.
A former amateur
wrestler
Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat spo ...
Nicholas Pete Rodriguez was born on 30 August 1996 in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...
, raised in
Clayton, New Jersey
Clayton is a borough in Gloucester County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 8,807, an increase of 628 from the 2010 census count of 8,179,Clayton High School.
Wrestling career
Rodriguez began
wrestling
Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...
in
sixth grade
Sixth grade (or grade six in some regions) is the sixth year of schooling. Students are typically 11–12 years old, depending on when their birthday occurs. Different terms and numbers are used in other parts of the world. It is commonly the firs ...
. He qualified for the
NJSIAA
The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) is an association of hundreds of New Jersey high schools that regulates high school athletics and holds tournaments and crowns champions in high school sports.
State championsh ...
championships as a
senior
Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to:
* Senior (name), a surname ...
but did not place.
Collegiate career
After
high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
, Rodriguez attended
Ferrum College
Ferrum College is a private college in Ferrum, Virginia. The college was established in 1913 as the Ferrum Training School (also referred to as the Ferrum Institute by its board of trustees) for primary and secondary education to serve the mountai ...
, that has an
NCAA Division III
NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their ...
wrestling program. In between his last match as a high school wrestler and his first match as a
collegiate wrestler
Collegiate wrestling (also known as folkstyle wrestling) is the form of wrestling practiced at the college and university level in the United States. This style of wrestling, with some slight modifications, is also practiced at high school and ...
, he gained 50 pounds, going from 170 to 220 pounds. Rodriguez attended college for one year, during which he placed fourth at the East Regionals and had a record of 23 wins and 4 losses. He decided to pursue modeling career with
Wilhelmina Models
Wilhelmina International Inc. (NASDAQ: WHLM), formerly Wilhelmina Models, is a full service modeling and talent agency headquartered in New York City, United States. The company also has offices in Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami. Founded in 1 ...
.
Post-collegiate career
Rodriguez returned to wrestling on October 5, 2019, when he faced that year's
USA Wrestling
USA Wrestling (formerly known as the United States Wrestling Federation and as the United States Wrestling Association) is the organization that currently governs freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestling in the United States. USA Wrestling i ...
In 2018, Rodriguez was persuaded by a friend to attend his first
jiu-jitsu
Jujutsu ( ; ja, link=no, 柔術 , ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu, is a family of Japanese martial arts and a system of close combat (unarmed or with a minor weapon) that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subd ...
class to stay fit. After two weeks of training, he attended his first
submission wrestling
Submission wrestling, also known as Submission grappling, Submission fighting a form of competition and a general term for martial arts and combat sports that focus on clinch and ground fighting with the aim of obtaining a submission through ...
competition and went on to win the advanced 230 pounds and absolute brackets. A few months later, he moved to
Renzo Gracie Academy
Renzo Gracie Academy is a martial arts school headed by Renzo Gracie, located in Midtown Manhattan.
Overview
Renzo Gracie founded the academy in 1996. It was originally above a methadone clinic before it moved to its current location at 224 West ...
with coach John Danaher, who awarded him his blue belt later on.
After a failed attempt to qualify for the ADCCs, Rodriguez competed at the IBJJF World Championship in the blue belt division. He defeated all three of his opponents to win the championship.
black belts
In East Asian martial arts, the black belt is associated with expertise, but may indicate only competence, depending on the martial art. The use of colored belts is a relatively recent invention dating from the 1880s.
Origin
The systematic use ...
Cyborg Abreu
Roberto de Abreu Filho (commonly known as "Cyborg" Abreu) is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) competitor, academy owner and instructor. A 7-time World No-Gi Champion, Abreu is known for his trademark ''Tornado Guard'' position which involves invertin ...
to make it to the finals, where he lost to black belt IBJJF World ChampionKaynan Duarte on points, earning him 2nd place in the tournament. He was promoted to
purple belt Purple Belt may refer to the following:
*Purple belt, a rank in martial arts (see Kyū)
**Purple belt (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu)
The Brazilian jiu-jitsu ranking system signifies a practitioner's increasing level of technical knowledge and practical s ...
on the ADCC podium by his coach Jay Regalbuto. Rodriguez became known by the nickname "Black Belt Slayer".
He competed against Duarte in a rematch at Fight 2 Win, which he lost. He also competed at the BJJ Fanatics Grand Prix.
2020
After his bronze medal finish at the KASAI Pro 7, Rodriguez was scheduled to face 2019 US World Team Member Pat Downey at Third Coast Grappling IV in a special ruleset match on March 14. However, the event was cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
.
He then competed at Third Coast Grappling: Kumite IV on July 11. He was eliminated in the first round.
In December, 2020, Rodriguez moved to Puerto Rico with the rest of his teammates to continue training under John Danaher.
2021
Rodriguez competed against Yuri Simões in the co-main event of Who's Number One on March 26, 2021. Rodriguez won the match by decision. He was then invited to compete in an absolute grand prix at Third Coast Grappling 6 on April 3, 2021. Rodriguez defeated Pedro Marinho by decision in the opening round before losing a decision to Victor Hugo in the semi-final.
In July, news broke that the Danaher Death Squad were splitting up. Rodriguez elected to continue training with
Craig Jones Craig Jones may refer to:
* Craig Jones (grappler) (born 1991), Australian grappler and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt competitor
* Craig Jones (musician) (born 1972), American musician
* Craig Jones (motorcyclist) (1985–2008), English motorcycle ...
,
Ethan Crelinsten
Ethan may refer to:
People
*Ethan (given name)
Places
*Ethan, South Dakota
*Fort Ethan Allen (Arlington, Virginia)
Fiction
*''Ethan of Athos'', 1986 novel by Lois McMaster Bujold
*"Ethan Brand", 1850 short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne
*''Ethan ...
, and
Nicky Ryan
Nicholas Dominick Ryan (born 14 July 1946) is an Irish music producer, recording engineer, and manager. He is best known as the longtime business and recording partner for the singer, songwriter and musician Enya alongside his wife, poet and lyr ...
. The four grapplers opened up a new gym in Austin, Texas under the name B-Team Jiu-Jitsu in August, 2021. Shortly afterward, Rodriguez was invited to compete at the 2022 ADCC World Championship.
On December 30, 2021, Rodriguez competed against UFC veteran Steve Mowry at Fury Pro Grappling 3 and submitted him with a rear-naked choke at 5:30.
2022
Rodriguez faced Elder Cruz at Who's Number One: Jones v Marinho on January 21, 2022, and lost the match by split decision. Shortly after this, Rodriguez was promoted to brown belt in BJJ. Rodriguez competed in the over 99kg division of ADCC 2022, defeating Damon Ramos on points and submitting John Hansen with a rear-naked choke on the first day. On the second day he defeated Felipe Pena on points in the semi-final, but was submitted by Gordon Ryan in the final and came away with a silver medal.
He was then invited to compete at EBI 20: The Absolutes on October 23, 2021. Rodriguez won the tournament by defeating Ezeqiual Zurita, Luke Griffith, Austin Baker, and Kyle Boehm in one night. On December 15, 2021, Rodriguez was scheduled to compete in another absolute tournament at UFC Fight Pass Invitational 3. However, Vinny Magalhães withdrew from the main event match against Gordon Ryan and Rodriguez agreed to step in to replace him instead. Neither man could finish the fight in regulation time and the match went to EBI overtime, where Gordon Ryan won by fastest escape time. Ryan would accuse Rodriguez of 'greasing' during their match. Rodriguez denied that accusation on an episode Mark Bell's Power Project Podcast in February, 2023.
2023
Rodriguez stepped in on two day's notice to replace Gordon Ryan against Felipe Pena in the main event of Who's Number One on February 25, 2023. He lost the match by unanimous decision. Rodriguez was then invited to compete in an openweight tournament at
UFC Fight Pass
UFC Fight Pass is an American subscription-based video streaming service owned by the UFC's parent company, Zuffa, that launched in December 2013.
History
Fight Pass showcases live and on-demand mixed martial arts, submission grappling, kickbox ...
Invitational 4 on June 29, 2023. He defeated Roberto Jimenez, Vagner Rocha, and Dan Manasoiu to win the tournament.
Rodriguez then competed at Quintet 4 on September 10, 2023 as part of The B-Team Bulls. Rodriguez drew both of his matches but his team won the tournament. Rodriguez was scheduled to compete against 3 competitors: Jake Lowry, Cody Gamble, and Zack Humbertson, in a series of matches at Sprawl in the Burgh 2 on October 20, 2023.
Professional wrestling
On April 24, 2023, Rodriguez revealed that he had attended a WWE tryout and had been accepted along with several other athletes.
Personal life
Rodriguez's younger brother Jacob, known as Jay or J-rod, is a B Team jiu jitsu competitor. A former two-time state and regional champion in wrestling, he's the winner of the 2022 ADCC North American West Coast Trials in the -88kg division.
Championships and accomplishments
Main Achievements:
* ADCC US West Coast Trials champion (2019)
* EBI 20: The Absolute Champion (2022)
* Grappling Industries: Wildwook (Advanced Absolute) (2018)
* Grappling Industries: Wildwook (Advanced 230 lbs) (2018)
* 2nd place
ADCC World Championships
The ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship, is an international submission wrestling, submission grappling competition, organised by the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC). The inaugural tournament was held in Abu Dhabi, UAE in 1998. It has been ...
(2019 / 2022)
* 3rd place Kasai 7 HW Grand Prix (2020)
* 3rd place ADCC US East Coast Trials (2018)
* 3rd place Third Coast Grappling 6 Grand Prix (2021)
* 3rd place KASAI Pro 7 (+99 kg) (2020)
Main Achievements (Colored Belts):
* IBJJF World Championships No-Gi champion (2018 blue belt)
* High Rollerz Open: Pittsburgh (blue belt Absolute)