Tag: Daniel Rodriguez

Daniel Rodriguez staying ready for the call, would love to compete on ‘Fight Island’

Daniel Rodriguez is ready to follow up on his impressive UFC debut and would love to compete on ‘Fight Island.’

Former Contender Series prospect [autotag]Daniel Rodriguez[/autotag] is ready to follow up on his eye-catching UFC debut.

Rodriguez (11-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) stepped in on just two weeks’ notice to take on established veteran Tim Means in February at UFC on ESPN+ 25. After dropping “The Dirty Bird” late in Round 1, Rodriguez poured on the pressure and eventually submitted Means in the second round.

That win earned Rodriguez a “Performance of the Night” bonus, and with the UFC looking to get back up and running following an enforced hiatus, he has been staying ready, waiting for the call to jump back into the cage on any of the upcoming cards.

“It was on two weeks’ notice, so we went in there knowing that the odds are not on our side, but (I) went in there and did my thing,” Rodriguez told MMA Junkie. “Since then, I’ve been getting ready and staying ready. I realized that I could get a short-notice fight at any time and I have to be one-hundred percent ready and that’s what I’ve been up to this whole time.

“Honestly I follow a lot of other fighters and I feel confident that I’d be ready to fight at any moment and I feel like I’m working a lot harder than a lot of people, unless they’re doing something that they’re not showing me. But I’m ready to go. My last fight I took on two weeks’ notice. My management and my team is telling me to start getting ready, so I’ve been in shape, I’ve been getting work. Now I just gotta start dieting, start the weight cut, and I’ll be ready for whenever.”

Rodriguez got his first taste of the UFC last July when he competed on Dana White’s Contender Series. Rodriguez went to the scorecards for the first time in his career as he picked up a unanimous decision win over Rico Farrington at the UFC Apex, but it wasn’t enough to earn him a UFC contract that night.

Undeterred, Rodriguez went back to work and stopped Quinton McCottrell to win the Smash Global welterweight title in his next outing before finally receiving his UFC call-up. Now, less than a year after his appearance on the Contender Series, Rodriguez is on the UFC roster, riding a seven-fight win streak, and has his sights set on the welterweight elite.

“Of course, I’m aiming for big names but I’m a newcomer,” he said. “I’ll fight anybody to climb up the ranks and show the world where I belong but I really don’t mind who it is. Just like when they told me about making my debut, I didn’t care who it was. I said ‘yes’ before they told me who it was. I’ll fight anybody. That’s how I been my whole life.”

With the UFC event schedule restarting on May 9, the promotion has scheduled three straight events in Jacksonville, Florida with intentions of hosting future events at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, as well as Dana White’s now-infamous “Fight Island,” which is expected to be ready by June. Rodriguez said he’d love to compete at the UFC’s mystery island venue.

“That ‘Fight Island’ sounds awesome to me, it’s like Mortal Kombat or something like that,” he said. “It reminds me of all the old Van Damme movies I grew up watching, so I think that would be an amazing experience. I would love to do that (and) experience something like that, but really I’ll fight anywhere. But if I had a place to choose, it’d definitely be ‘Fight Island.'”

Rookie Report: Recapping the UFC’s five A-grade debutants in Q1 2020

MMA Junkie’s Simon Head takes a look back at the best rookie performers in the UFC so far in 2020.

Twenty-two fighters have made their UFC debuts so far in 2020, with 10 of them picking up victories to give their careers on the biggest stage a winning start.

Of those 10 winners, there were five newcomers who stood out as they delivered A-grade performances on their respective debuts. Here, we recap their displays as we look back at the best rookie performances of 2020 so far.

* * * *

Daniel Rodriguez

If there’s one thing UFC fans love to see, it’s a fighter who will step in the cage and throw down, even when it’s against someone who has built a winning reputation for doing the same.

That’s exactly what we saw from welterweight [autotag]Daniel Rodriguez[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN+ 25 in Rio Rancho, N.M., as he went toe-to-toe with Tim Means before eventually finishing “The Dirty Bird” via submission inside two rounds.

Despite facing such well-established, respected opposition, Rodriguez (11-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) showcased the sort of composure you’d expect to see from a 10-fight UFC veteran, as he outstruck Means, dropped him, and then submitted him with a standing guillotine to cap off an outstanding octagon debut.

What made his performance all the more impressive was the fact that Rodriguez had the deck stacked against him but still prevailed. He was facing a dangerous veteran, in Means’s home state of New Mexico, on just three weeks’ notice. That’s as tough an assignment as you could expect to receive in your UFC debut, yet Rodriguez passed with flying colors.

Next up: A submission specialist delivers a knockout performance.

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MMA Junkie’s ‘Submission of the Month’ for February: The ‘black belt killer’

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submission from February 2020.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from February 2020: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s “Submission of the Month” award for February.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.

* * * *

The Nominees

Daniel Rodriguez def. Tim Means at UFC on ESPN+ 25

[autotag]Daniel Rodriguez[/autotag] (11-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) rose to the occasion in his UFC debut, taking out Tim Means (29-12-1 MMA, 11-9 UFC), a 21-fight veteran of the organization, in the second round of their welterweight bout.

After battering Means on the feet and putting him in serious danger of a knockout, Rodriguez changed his attack to a standing guillotine choke. It went in deep, and shortly thereafter Means tapped and the fight was over.

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Alex Polizzi def. Jamal Pogues at LFA 82

[autotag]Alex Polizzi[/autotag] (6-0) scored his ticket to a Bellator contract by claiming the LFA light heavyweight title with a submission finish of Jamal Pogues (7-3) in the championship rounds.

Although submissions decrease in likelihood later into fights, Polizzi snatched the leg of Pogues in the early stages of the fourth round and locked in a heel hook. Pogues tapped out, and Polizzi remained undefeated in his young career.

Georgi Karakhanyan def. Paul Redmond at Bellator Europe 7

In his return to the lightweight division, [autotag]Georgi Karakhanyan[/autotag] (29-10-1 MMA, 7-8 BMMA) picked up a much-needed win against Paul Redmond (15-9 MMA, 2-1 BMMA).

After going on a three-fight drought, Karakhanyan had an entertaining battle with Redmond before locking in a guillotine choke in the early stages of the round to finish the fight and get his hand raised for the first time in 21 months.

Jimmy Crute def. Michal Oleksiejczuk at UFC on ESPN+ 26

[autotag]Jimmy Crute[/autotag] (11-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) rebounded from the first loss of his career with an impressive finish of Michal Oleksiejczuk (14-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) in their light heavyweight matchup.

Crute put his sizable ground advantage to use when he put Oleksiejczuk on his back and synched in a Kimura to elicit the tap in just over three minutes.

Jordan Griffin def. TJ Brown via guillotine choke at UFC on ESPN+ 27

Just when it seemed he was not going to get the finish, [autotag]Jordan Griffin[/autotag] (18-7 MMA, 1-2 UFC) choked TJ Brown (14-7 MMA, 0-1 UFC) out cold.

Attempting to lock in a guillotine choke from bottom position, Griffin’s attempt to finish the fight appeared that it would be unfruitful. Seconds later, though, the fight was over and Griffin had his first UFC win.

* * * *

The Winner: Jordan Griffin

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Griffin’s first UFC win was an impressive one.

After going 0-2 with two unanimous decision losses to kick off his octagon tenure, Griffin needed to get his hand raised in order to ensure his future with the organization.

He did just that, and in slick fashion, no less.

Griffin went for a usual guillotine choke while on bottom, which cageside commentator Michael Bisping wrote off as having any real chance of finishing the fight. He was wrong, however, because Griffin was able to finish the fight with a useful technique.

“I love that choke – that’s one of my go-to submissions,” Griffin said. “When you hook that in over the shoulder, it’s almost impossible to escape. People think they can circle around because their legs are free, but that actually makes it tighter. As soon as I locked it in, I knew it was over and that he was out. That’s my black belt killer right there.”

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Daniel Rodriguez not surprised he rose to the occasion under UFC Rio Rancho pressure

Take a look inside Daniel Rodriguez’s submission upset of Tim Means at UFC on ESPN+ 25 in Rio Rancho, N.M.

RIO RANCHO, N.M. – [autotag]Daniel Rodriguez[/autotag] beat Tim Means with a second-round submission Saturday to close out the preliminary card at UFC on ESPN+ 25 in Rio Rancho, N.M.

Take a look inside the fight with Rodriguez, who got a $50,000 performance bonus in his short-notice UFC debut.

Result: Daniel Rodriguez def. Tim Means via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 3:37
Updated records: Rodriguez (11-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC), Means (29-12-1 MMA, 11-9 UFC)
Key stat: Rodriguez was the third biggest underdog on the card.

Rodriguez on the fight’s key moment

“I knew when I stunned and dropped him at the end of the first that it would take a whole lot longer than a minute to recover. Coming into the second round, I wanted to see how his movement was and just stuck to the game plan and didn’t rush it to try and get the finish. It worked out perfectly.”

Rodriguez on stepping up on short notice

“This is long overdue. I’ve been thinking about this since the first day I stepped into an MMA gym. I’ve worked so hard to be here. When I got the call on short notice, I thought to myself, ‘Who am I to turn down the UFC?’ I was going to fight, regardless.”

Rodriguez on what he wants next

“I feel like Tim Means is a very respected guy and I took him out. I always rise to the occasion. When the pressure is on, I perform way better. I don’t break under pressure, and that’s what I showed. I believe in myself and my team and I know I can keep showing I belong in there with anyone.”

To hear more from Rodriguez, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.

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UFC on ESPN+ 25 post-event facts: History made with multiple disqualifications

All the notable stats and figures to come out of UFC on ESPN+ 25, which saw Jan Blachowicz knock out Corey Anderson in the main event.

The UFC returned to New Mexico on Saturday with UFC on ESPN+ 25. The 13-fight card took place at Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho and streamed on ESPN+ 25.

The main event saw a potentially new top light heavyweight contender emerge to fight Jon Jones. Poland’s [autotag]Jan Blachowicz[/autotag] (26-8 MMA, 9-5 UFC) extended his winning streak to three fights with a thunderous first-round knockout of [autotag]Corey Anderson[/autotag] (13-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC), avenging a decision loss from September 2015.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for 45 post-event facts to come out of UFC on ESPN+ 25.

* * * *

General

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UFC on ESPN+ 25 was the first event in UFC history to feature two disqualification results.

The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payout for the event totaled $186,500.

Debuting fighters went 2-1 at the event.

Blachowicz, [autotag]Daniel Rodriguez[/autotag], [autotag]Scott Holtzman[/autotag] and [autotag]Jim Miller[/autotag] earned $50,000 UFC on ESPN+ 25 fight-night bonuses.

UFC on ESPN+ 25 drew an announced attendance of 6,449 for a live gate of $596,820.

Betting favorites went 9-4 on the card.

Betting favorites improved to 3-1 in UFC headliners this year.

Total fight time for the 13-bout card was 2:18:54.

Main card

Jan Blachowicz

Blachowicz improved to 7-1 in his past eight UFC appearances dating back to October 2017. The only defeat in that stretch came to Thiago Santos.

Blachowicz’s three-fight UFC winning streak at light heavyweight is tied for the second longest active streak in the division behind Jon Jones (four).

Anderson has suffered all four of his career stoppage losses by knockout.

[autotag]Diego Sanchez[/autotag] (30-12 MMA, 19-12 UFC) improved to 3-2 since he returned to the UFC welterweight division in November 2017. He’s 12-6 at the weight under the UFC banner.

Sanchez’s 19 victories in UFC competition are seventh most in company history. Donald Cerrone holds the record with 23.

Sanchez has absorbed 1,362 total head strikes in his UFC career, the second-most in company history behind B.J. Penn (1,434).

[autotag]Montana De La Rosa[/autotag]’s (11-5 MMA, 4-1 UFC) four victories in UFC women’s flyweight competition are tied for second most in divisional history behind Valentina Shevchenko (five).

[autotag]Mara Romero Borella[/autotag] (12-7 MMA, 2-3 UFC) has suffered both of her UFC losses by decision.

Ray Borg

[autotag]Ryan Borg[/autotag] (13-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) has earned five of his seven UFC victories by decision.

[autotag]Rogerio Bontorin[/autotag] (16-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) suffered the first decision loss of his career.

[autotag]Yancy Medeiros[/autotag] (15-7 MMA, 6-7 UFC) fell to 0-2 since he returned to the UFC lightweight division in January 2019. He’s 3-6 (with one no contest) in the weight class overall.

Preliminary card

Daniel Rodriguez

Rodriguez (11-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) has earned 10 of his 11 career victories by stoppage.

[autotag]Tim Means[/autotag] (29-12-1 MMA, 11-9 UFC) fell to 9-7 (with one no contest) since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in May 2014.

[autotag]John Dodson[/autotag] (21-11 MMA, 10-6 UFC) improved to 4-4 since he returned to the UFC bantamweight division in April 2016. He’s 5-4 in the weight class overall.

Dodson has earned all six of his UFC stoppage victories by knockout.

[autotag]Nathaniel Wood[/autotag] (16-4 MMA, 3-1 UFC) has suffered all four of his career losses by stoppage.

Miller’s (31-14 MMA, 20-13 UFC) total fight time of 5:21:47 in UFC lightweight competition is most in divisional history.

Miller’s 11 fight-night bonuses for UFC lightweight bouts are tied with Nate Diaz for third most in divisional history behind Cerrone (15) and Joe Lauzon (15).

[autotag]Devin Clark[/autotag] (11-4 MMA, 5-4 UFC) has alternated wins and losses over his past seven UFC appearances.

Clark has earned all five of his UFC victories by decision.

[autotag]Dequan Townsend[/autotag]’s (21-11 MMA, 0-3 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since March.

Townsend has suffered nine of his 11 career losses by decision.

Merab Dvalishvili

[autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] (10-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC) has earned seven of his 10 career victories by decision. That includes all four of his UFC wins.

Dvalishvili’s 12 takedowns landed set a new single-fight record for a UFC/WEC bantamweight fight. He was previously tied with two other fighters with 11 in a fight.

Dvalishvili became the fourth in UFC history to have multiple fights with 10 or more takedowns landed. Georges St-Pierre, Demetrious Johnson and Colby Covington also accomplished the feat.

Dvalishvili has completed 39 total takedowns in his five UFC appearances.

[autotag]Casey Kenney[/autotag] (13-2-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) has suffered both of his career losses by decision.

[autotag]Mark De La Rosa[/autotag]’s (11-4 MMA, 2-4 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since November 2018.

De La Rosa suffered the first knockout loss of his career.

UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.

UFC on ESPN+ 25 rookie report: Grading the newcomers in Rio Rancho

Fighters from around the globe dream of the day they’ll step into the octagon the first time – so how did the newcomers perform on Saturday?

Fighters from around the globe dream of the day they’ll step into the UFC octagon for the first time. For three athletes, Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 25 event marked that special moment in their career.

Check out this week’s rookie report to see what kind of first impression those fighters made on the sport’s biggest stage from Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, NM.

* * * * *

Shanna Young

Shanna Young

Division: Women’s flyweight
Result: Macy Chiasson def. [autotag]Shanna Young[/autotag] via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
Record: (7-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC)
Grade: D+

If we’re being honest, Shanna Young had the deck stacked against her from the moment she signed her bout agreement to fight in Rio Rancho.

The former Dana White’s Contender Series competitor agreed to step in on five days’ notice, at altitude, against a fired-up Macy Chiasson, who was determined to put things right after a bad weight cut helped send her to her first career defeat last time out. It meant Young was the biggest underdog on the card, and it was therefore perhaps no surprise that the fight didn’t go her way.

But although Young’s short-notice octagon debut ended in a unanimous decision defeat, there were certainly signs of promise from “The Shanimal” during the fight. Most notably, her first-round performance showed that she has dangerous strikes, particularly off her front foot, with her high kicks finding a home on the side of Chiasson’s head on a couple of occasions in the first few minutes of the fight. She also connected with some solid short elbows from the clinch during that opening round. But once Chiasson realized she could step inside Young’s kicks, the debutant found life much tougher against Chiasson’s clinch attack.

Young shipped a plethora of punishing knees to the midsection, then the head, as Chiasson dominated from the clinch in the second half of Round 1. Those knees may have finished flyweights with less concrete abs than Young, but she hung tough and absorbed everything Chiasson threw at her, while still firing back with elbows of her own. She also fared impressively well with her takedown defense and scrambling ability as she ensured she wasn’t pinned down for long spells on the mat.

Unsurprisingly, after taking such punishment to the midsection in the opening round, Young found the going much tougher in the second and third rounds as Chiasson was able to take the fight to the mat and dominate from top position. Young took a reasonable amount of punishment, but did enough off her back to make sure the referee never had to consider stepping in to stop the fight.

On reflection, a short-notice debut at altitude against fired-up, ranked, opposition probably wasn’t the ideal starting point for a fighter looking to hit the ground running on her UFC debut. But the experience of that first fight should stand Young in good stead for her next outing, which should come against unranked opposition after a full training camp. Then we should get a better chance to assess the prospect at 100 percent.

Young’s early striking success, combined with her grit, toughness, and conditioning on a night where the deck was stacked against her all ensured she earned a narrow pass mark in Rio Rancho. But the UFC matchmakers will likely need to see more from her after the three-minute mark in her next matchup.

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UFC on ESPN+ 25 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Main event combine for $20k total

UFC on ESPN+ 25 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that launched after the UFC’s deal with Reebok.

RIO RANCHO, N.M. – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 25 event took home event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $186,500.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC on ESPN+ 25 took place Saturday at Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, N.M. The entire card streamed ESPN+.

The full UFC on ESPN+ 25 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Jan Blachowicz[/autotag]: $10,000
def. [autotag]Corey Anderson[/autotag]: $10,000

[autotag]Diego Sanchez[/autotag]: $20,000
def. [autotag]Michel Pereira[/autotag]: $3,500

[autotag]Montana De La Rosa[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Mara Romero Borella[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Brok Weaver[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Kazula Vargas[/autotag]: $3,500

[autotag]Ray Borg[/autotag]: $10,000
def. [autotag]Rogerio Bontorin[/autotag]: $3,500

[autotag]Lando Vannata[/autotag]: $5,000
def. [autotag]Yancy Medeiros[/autotag]: $10,000

[autotag]Daniel Rodriguez[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Tim Means[/autotag]: $20,000

[autotag]John Dodson[/autotag]: $15,000
def. [autotag]Nathaniel Wood[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Scott Holtzman[/autotag]: $5,000
def. [autotag]Jim Miller[/autotag]: $20,000

[autotag]Devin Clark[/autotag]: $5,000
def. [autotag]Dequan Townsend[/autotag]: $3,500

[autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Casey Kenney[/autotag]: $3,500

[autotag]Macy Chiasson[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Shanna Young[/autotag]: $3,500

[autotag]Raulian Paiva[/autotag]: $3,500
def. [autotag]Mark De La Rosa[/autotag]: $5,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Reebok’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $3,500 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,000; 6-10 bouts get $5,000; 11-15 bouts earn $10,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $15,000; and 21 bouts and more get $20,000. Additionally, champions earn $40,000 while title challengers get $30,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2020 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $577,000
2019 total: $7,370,500
2018 total: $6,901,000
2017 total: $6,295,000
2016 total: $7,138,000
2015 total: $3,185,000
Program-to-date total: $31,581,500

Fight Tracks: The walkout songs of UFC Rio Rancho with Bon Jovi vs. Loverboy showdown

Check out all the fighter walkout songs from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 25 event in Rio Rancho, N.M.

While it takes intense training, world-class skills and maybe even a bit of luck to register a UFC win, picking the right song to accompany you to the cage is a key talent, as well.

Inside, see what the fighters from UFC on ESPN+ 25 went with as their backing tracks in Rio Rancho, N.M.

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UFC on ESPN+ 25: Tim Means full post-fight interview

UFC on ESPN+ 25: Tim Means full post-fight interview

UFC on ESPN+ 25: Tim Means full post-fight interview