Daniel Rodriguez
Division: Welterweight
Result: [autotag]Daniel Rodriguez[/autotag] def. Tim Means via submission (standing guillotine) – Round 2, 3:37
Record: (11-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC)
Grade: A+
You can’t ask any more from a UFC debut than the performance Daniel Rodriguez produced against Tim Means in Rio Rancho, and he did it on just three weeks’ notice.
The Californian debutant looked as calm and composed as a 10-fight UFC veteran as he walked Means onto his southpaw jab throughout the matchup, then badly dropped him at the end of the first, hurt him midway through the second, then finished him with a submission before the end of the round.
Rodriguez took some solid shots early and had to bounce back up after being taken down in the opening seconds. But he soon settled into his gameplan as he fought smartly off the back foot, landing some solid leg kicks and working his southpaw right jab superbly as Means looked to apply the pressure and stalk him around the cage.
A solid opening round from the debutant became a huge one in the final second as he dropped Means hard with a left hook behind the ear right at the buzzer that left “The Dirty Bird” staggering his way across the octagon in search of his corner. That shot gave Rodriguez all the confidence he needed at the start of the second round, and he started to let his hands go with even more confidence after the restart. He briefly dropped Means again, but smartly didn’t allow himself to get over-zealous in his approach as he maintained his composure and picked his shots well to maintain his momentum through the round.
Then, after forcing Means to cover up with another barrage of punches, Rodriguez moved in for the finish as he backed the clearly hurt Means against the cage. And, when the Albuquerque native looked to clinch up and go for a desperation takedown, Rodriquez switched gears and locked up a standing guillotine choke to force the tap midway through the round.
It was as good a debut as you could wish to see, especially considering the fact he was facing such a seasoned opponent on enemy territory. The welterweight division just got a little more dangerous.