Athletes
Gregory Rodrigues | Attitude Of Gratitude
Middleweight Contender Is Staying Grounded And Grateful As He Prepares For The Biggest Test Of His Career To Date.
Gregory Rodrigues is all set for his second UFC main event as he prepares to take on dangerous middleweight contender Anthony Hernandez in Sacramento, California, and the Brazilian known as “Robocop” is entering the bout with a real sense of calmness and freedom as he gets set for a huge test on Saturday night. Training and competing in MMA is a high-stress, high-intensity way to make a living, and those stresses can weigh heavily on fighters as they go through their careers. But for Rodrigues, the chance to step into the Octagon and test his mettle against the best fighters on the planet is a privilege he’s determined not to lose sight of.
“I started very young in this journey through my father,” Rodrigues told UFC.com ahead of fight night in Sacramento. “Like I always said, that was my father’s dream, and then it became my dream, and I made this dream become true. So yeah, that’s fantastic, and I’m excited. One more fight in the UFC, I’m in my second main event. Oh man, I'm just happy.”
One of the reasons for Rodrigues’ mindset is his determination to live in the moment and not let the small things frustrate him and grind him down.
Watch This And Every UFC Event On Paramount+
“I just realized that the moments go fast, man, and we can't lose the time,” he said. “Sometimes we worry about something that doesn’t have value, and we forget to see and be grateful and enjoy every moment we are living right now. So, I’m enjoying this, because I know where I come from.”
He also recalled the moment a friend’s simple question gave him the moment’s pause he needed to realize that he was missing the bigger picture and losing his smile in the process.
Gregory Rodrigues: 'I Did My Homework' | UFC Sacramento
Unlock MORE of your inner combat sports fan with UFC Fight Pass! Fighting is what we live for. And no one brings you MORE live fights, new shows, and events across multiple combat sports from around the world. With a never-ending supply of fighting in every discipline, there`s always something new to watch. Leave it to the world`s authority in MMA to bring you the Ultimate 24/7 platform for MORE combat sports, UFC Fight Pass!
Gregory Rodrigues: 'I Did My Homework' | UFC Sacramento
/
“A friend of mine asked me and said, ‘Gregory, if somebody gave you this opportunity like 10 years ago, how would you [react]?’ he recalled. “I said, ‘Oh man, I would be like the happiest man on Earth.’ He said, ‘What changed? What changed? Why are you not happy right now?’ And I said, ‘That's true, man.’”
That realization that he had lost his mojo along the way was the starting point for a period of renewal, as Rodrigues rediscovered his motivation, and his smile, once again. Now he’s grateful for everything he’s experiencing as a ranked UFC fighter.
FIGHT WEEK INTERVIEWS: Reinier de Ridder | Mason Jones | Chris Padilla | Anthony Hernandez | MarQuel Mederos | Shanelle Dyer | Lerryan Douglas | Roman Dolidze
“I'm glad to be here in Sacramento,” he said. “I just flew out from Florida. It's a long flight, but I was on the airplane, just enjoying it, thanking God for all these moments I'm living right now… I did my homework, and I know what I need to do on Saturday night. I'm ready to do what I need to do, and I'm gonna enjoy it, live this moment.”
Rodrigues revealed that the loss of his father, who was the biggest driving force in his career, forced him to find inner strength to continue with his career, with the Brazilian determined to take his skills all the way to the top to repay the faith his parents had in him back in the beginning.
“In life, there’s always gonna be ups and downs, right?” he said. “But sometimes when we are down, we think that it’s over, but it’s not over. If I look back, sometimes, when the hard times came in my life, I didn't have anybody to tell me, ‘Hey, let's go!’ … I come from my house in the middle of the jungle in the Amazon, [in] a poor neighborhood. At that time, I was thinking like, ‘Man, maybe I'm not going anywhere [in life]. That's my end here.’ But it’s not, man.
“My parents invested everything in me. I lost my dad in 2015. He gave his own life to make this dream come true, and so now I'm here. So, if someone is in the same position now that I was in 20 years ago, man, just keep going and see those moments when you dig deep to get the power to rise back up… I was walking through the airport, and I saw a guy without arms. Then I looked at myself and said, ‘Bro, this guy doesn’t have arms, and I’m going to Sacramento to fight. I have to be glad.’ People sometimes, they have everything – they have two arms, two legs, they are healthy, and sometimes we just complain about everything. Don’t complain, man. Just keep going. Look at yourself and say ‘Man, you have everything.’ That's why I tell myself I have everything I need to do what I have to do. I want to do it, and I need to do it.”
RELATED: Main Event Preview | Anthony Hernandez Representing For The 5-3-0 | Hernandez Fight Week Interview
Rodrigues wants to climb all the way up the division and into championship contention. But beyond earning his spot, he enters the Octagon without a chip on his shoulder. The only person he has to impress his himself, by reaching the standards he knows he’s capable of.
“I know who I am, and I'm not here to prove anything to anybody,” he stated. “I just want to do my good work, and the good work is coming from the hard work I did when nobody was watching. Then I did my homework, I did what I did, and now I’m ready for this fight… So that makes me free, and I can enjoy this moment because I don’t have to think. ‘I didn’t do this,’ or, ‘I forgot to do that.’ No. I did everything I needed. So all of this, the interviews, signing posters, a face-off, weigh-ins, all that kind of stuff, that’s all part of the process. That’s part of the show. But I know Saturday I’m gonna step into the Octagon, they’re gonna lock the door on me and the guy on the other side, ‘Fluffy,’ and the referee, for 25 minutes, and I’m gonna be happy. Let’s go!”
The matchup itself is a mouth-watering one, with the heavy-handed Rodrigues looking to overpower the relentless pressure fighting of Hernandez, who loves nothing better than a close-quarters tear-up.
The fighters’ respective styles promise a spectacular main event matchup, and potentially the toughest test of Rodrigues’s career. But, as the Brazilian explained, that’s just how he likes it – because he specifically asked for the matchup.
“Anthony is a tough guy,” he said. “His story inside the UFC is amazing. He had a big win streak, and he just lost to the current champion Sean Strickland. So when I asked for him, I said his name. I think that the fight makes sense in the division… He's a tough guy. I want to test myself with the best guys in that division, and I know he's a guy who can put me in a good spot. My goal is to be a champion and fight for the belt. So yeah, man, he's a tough guy, and I'm ready for that. I asked for that, and I wanted that.”
MORE UFC SACRAMENTO: Fight By Fight Preview | Fighters On The Rise | Five Things To Know Before Saturday's Event | Reinier de Ridder Changing Things Up | Mason Jones’ Big Bet is Paying Off | Main Event Preview
Despite the scale of the challenge standing in front of him, Rodrigues is convinced that he has the desire to overcome whatever Hernandez throws at him on fight night.
“Oh man, I want this so much,” he said. “Who wants it more? That's the [most] dangerous guy inside the Octagon, and I know how much I want this, and I'm prepared for that… We can go to the ground. We can [fight on] the ground a little bit, or we can stand up. I'm a rounded guy, and I'm ready for anything and everything.”
UFC Fight Night: Hernandez vs Rodrigues took place live from Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California on August 22, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!