Professional grappling career
2018
In 2018, Rodriguez was persuaded by a friend to attend his first jiu-jitsu class to stay fit. After two weeks of training, he attended his first submission wrestling competition [6] and went on to win the advanced 230 pounds and absolute brackets. [12] [13] A few months later, he moved to Renzo Gracie Academy 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. [14]
2020
After his bronze medal finish at the KASAI Pro 7, [22] 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. [23] However, the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [24]
He then competed at Third Coast Grappling: Kumite IV on July 11. He was eliminated in the first round. [25]
In December, 2020, Rodriguez moved to Puerto Rico with the rest of his teammates to continue training under John Danaher. [26]
2021
Rodriguez competed against Yuri Simões in the co-main event of Who's Number One on March 26, 2021. [27] Rodriguez won the match by decision. [28] He was then invited to compete in an absolute grand prix at Third Coast Grappling 6 on April 3, 2021. [29] Rodriguez defeated Pedro Marinho by decision in the opening round before losing a decision to Victor Hugo in the semi-final. [30] In July, news broke that the Danaher Death Squad were splitting up. [31] Rodriguez elected to continue training with Craig Jones, Ethan Crelinsten, and Nicky Ryan. [32] The four grapplers opened up a new gym in Austin, Texas under the name B Team Jiu Jitsu in August, 2021. [33] Shortly afterward, Rodriguez was invited to compete at the 2022 ADCC World Championship. [34] 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. [35]
2022
Rodriguez faced Elder Cruz at Who's Number One: Jones v Marinho on January 21, 2022, and lost the match by split decision. [36] Shortly after this, Rodriguez was promoted to brown belt in BJJ. [37] Rodriguez competed in the over 99 kg 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. [38] He was then invited to compete at EBI 20: The Absolutes on October 23, 2021. [39] Rodriguez won the tournament by defeating Ezeqiual Zurita, Luke Griffith, Austin Baker, and Kyle Boehm in one night. [40] On December 15, 2022, Rodriguez was scheduled to compete in another absolute tournament at UFC Fight Pass Invitational 3. [41] However, Vinny Magalhães withdrew from the main event match against Gordon Ryan and Rodriguez agreed to step in to replace him instead. [42] Neither man could finish the fight in regulation time and the match went to EBI overtime, where Gordon Ryan won by fastest escape time. [43] 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. [44]
2023
Rodriguez stepped in on two days' notice to replace Gordon Ryan against Felipe Pena in the main event of Who's Number One on February 25, 2023. [45] He lost the match by unanimous decision. [46] Rodriguez was then invited to compete in an openweight tournament at UFC Fight Pass Invitational 4 on June 29, 2023. [47] He defeated Roberto Jimenez, Vagner Rocha, and Dan Manasoiu to win the tournament. [48] Rodriguez then competed at Quintet 4 on September 10, 2023 as part of The B-Team Bulls. [49] Rodriguez drew both of his matches but his team won the tournament. [50] 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. [51] He won all three. Rodriguez then competed against Yuri Simões at UFC Fight Pass Invitational 5 on December 10, 2023. [52] He won the match on points. [53]
2024
Rodriguez competed against Victor Hugo in the main event of Who's Number One 22 on February 9, 2024. [54] He lost the match by decision. [55] Rodriguez competed against Roberto Jimenez in the co-main event of UFC Fight Pass Invitational 6 on March 3, 2024. [56] He won the match on points. [57] Rodriguez competed against Mason Fowler in the main event of UFC Fight Pass Invitational 7 on May 15, 2024. [58] He won the match on points. [59] Rodriguez was invited to compete in the over 99 kg division of the 2024 ADCC World Championship on August 17–18, 2024. [60] However, he later withdrew from the event in order to compete in the over 80 kg division of the Craig Jones Invitational on August 16–17, 2024 instead. [61] Rodriguez submitted Max Gimenis, Owen Livesey, Adam Bradley, and Fellipe Andrew to win the tournament. [62]
Rodriguez faced Michael Pixley on October 10, 2024 in the main event of the UFC Fight Pass Invitational 8. [63] He won the match by submission. [64]
2025
Rodriguez competed against Victor Hugo in the main event of UFC Fight Pass Invitational 10 on March 6, 2025. [65] He lost the match by submission. [66]
Rodriguez is due to face Kaynan Duarte in the main event of Who’s Number One 27 on April 18, 2025. [67]
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