Athletes
Daniel Rodriguez Is Soaking It All In
Back For The First Time In More Than A Year, Daniel Rodriguez Hopes To Send A Message To The Welterweight Division In His First Main Event Assignment
Daniel Rodriguez has one of the sneakier resumes in the sport among active fighters. He joined the roster in February 2020, scoring a debut submission win over Tim Means and earning a Performance Bonus. Over the next six years, “D-Rod” fought 13 more times, building his Octagon record to 10-4 with wins over the likes of Kevin Lee, Li Jingliang, Santiago Ponzinibbio and Kevin Holland.
Rodriguez, 39, is now set for his first main event assignment against Uroš Medić in Medić’s home country of Serbia, and the Los Angeles-native is drinking in every bit of the experience as he approaches fight night on August 1.
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“Seeing myself on the poster is definitely a dream come true,” Rodriguez told UFC.com. “It’s something, definitely, as a fighter, we all dream about: headlining a UFC fight. It’s an amazing opportunity, and I’m just super grateful to be here.”
In June 2024, the chance to headline an event seemed far for Rodriguez. At that point, he dropped three in a row to Neil Magny, Ian Machado Garry and Kelvin Gastelum. Not exactly the worst trio of losses ever, but the streak hung over him all the same.
He righted the ship against Alex Morono before scoring his wins over Ponzinibbio and Holland, a turnaround that stationed him right back to the increasingly crowded top-15 at 170 pounds. With his first five-round assignment drawing near, Rodriguez knew he needed to lock in and prepare himself for 25 minutes of work and all that’ll come with it.
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“This time, definitely adjusted some things during training,” he said. “Definitely cleaned it up a lot (laughs). Definitely feel more ready for this fight, and definitely ready for fight night.”
Daniel Rodriguez: 'A Win Would Let Everyone Know I'm Back' | UFC Belgrade
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Daniel Rodriguez: 'A Win Would Let Everyone Know I'm Back' | UFC Belgrade
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Beyond Medić’s homefield advantage, the Serbian is on a roll. Since moving up to 170 pounds in July 2023, he is 5-2 and riding into Belgrade on a streak of three first-round knockouts in a row. His most-recent effort, a stunning knockout of Geoff Neal in Houston, put “The Doctor” on Rodriguez’s radar for the first time.
Days from their fight, Rodriguez is well aware of the threats Medić possesses, which his 10 first-round stoppages and 100-percent finishing rate back up in spades.
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“He’s a first-round fighter,” he said. “I believe going in there, just gotta be aware, use my good defense and stick to my game plan, which is jabbing him up, win the round and outstrike him. Definitely weathering the first round is key to victory for this fight. I don’t think that he has made it out of the first round very much … I think, after the first round, definitely is where I could pick up the pace and see where he’s at.”
Rodriguez is far from a slouch, particularly with his hands. Nine of his 20 pro wins came via knockout, and his boxing is often cited as one of his best attributes. He also showed his toughness and ability to rally from a tough start in his win over the chatty Holland at UFC 318.
Although Rodriguez is about four months from his 40th birthday, he remains keen to get into the thick of the red-hot welterweight title picture, one that’ll go into the spotlight in earnest when Islam Makhachev defends the title for the first time against Rodriguez’s old foe, Machado Garry.
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Rodriguez isn’t focused on all of that just yet, though. He first must make the second-to-last walk of the night on August 1, suffer the jeers from the partisan crowd and do what he made the long trip to do.
“A win would let everybody know that I’m back,” he said. “The division has changed, and there is a lot of great matchups for me. I think this is a great matchup. It’s a fan-friendly fight for sure. We’re both primarily strikers and high-volume guys and high pace. UFC did a great matchup with this one.”
UFC Fight Night: Medić vs Rodriguez took place live from Belgrade Arena in Belgrade, Serbia on August 1, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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