5 Things You Might Not Know About Daniel Rodriguez

Not even the most optimistic forecasts predicted this level of productivity from Daniel Rodriguez when he joined the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster just prior to the coronavirus pandemic.

The 35-year-old Californian will look to become an ever more significant player in the welterweight division when he confronts “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 16 semifinalist Neil Magny in the UFC Fight Night 214 co-headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Rodriguez steps into the Octagon on the heels of a four-fight winning streak. He last appeared at UFC 279, where he wound up on the right side of a contentious split decision against Jingliang Li on Sept. 10 and improved his record within the promotion to 7-1.

As Rodriguez moves closer to his showdown with Magny at 170 pounds, here are five things you might not know about him:

1. He shares commonality with cultural icons.

Rodriguez was born in Alhambra, California, less than 10 miles from downtown Los Angeles. Now a suburb of some 80,000 people, it was once home to famed artist Norman Rockwell, “The Golden Girls” actress Betty White and The New York Times best-selling author Clive Cussler.

2. Some might call him a quintessential late bloomer.

“D-Rod” did not make his professional mixed martial arts debut until he was 28 years old, as he submitted Christopher Gates with a first-round armbar at a King of the Cage event on June 14, 2015. In fact, all but two of Rodriguez’s bouts have taken place after he turned 30.

3. Championship gold has not eluded him.

Rodriguez followed his successful appearance on Season 3 of Dana White’s Contender Series by capturing the Smash Global welterweight title in December 2019, when he took care of Quinton McCottrell with punches in the second round of their “Black Tie Fight Night” co-main event. He arrived in the UFC two months later.

4. Flexibility marked his rise through the ranks.

The 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu and Syndicate MMA export has recorded wins in three different weight classes as a pro: lightweight, welterweight and middleweight. Rodriguez has done so while competing in seven different organizations, including the UFC, DWCS, Bellator MMA and Combate Global.

5. He has thus far proven to be unbreakable.

Rodriguez has never been finished in his 21-fight career. His only two setbacks resulted in a split decision defeat to Victor Reyna at Combate Americas 19 on Dec. 1, 2017 and a unanimous decision loss to Nicolas Dalby at UFC 255 on Nov. 21, 2020.