After warm start, Gregory Rodrigues vows to prove ‘I’m a risky guy for the department’ at UFC Vegas 49
Gregory Rodrigues (right) is 2-0 within the UFC going into his UFC Vegas forty nine combat with Armen Petrosyan. Zuffa LLC
The UFC middleweight department has Israel Adesanya sitting atop top the mountain and a number of Brazilian skills looking to input the ratings inside the near destiny. Gregory Rodrigues is one in every of them, but he’s no longer concerned approximately getting rushed up the ladder.
Aside from Paulo Costa within the top 5 and Andre Muniz trying to crack the pinnacle 10 along with his upcoming bout with Uriah Hall in April, Brazil currently has Alex Pereira, Bruno Santos, and Rodolfo Vieira scuffling with for interest out of doors the pinnacle 15 at 185 kilos.
Rodrigues is 2-0 to date within the UFC with a “Fight of the Night” bonus in his maximum recent victory, but hasn’t gotten the equal degree of hype as a number of his countrymen in advance of his third octagon appearance in Saturday’s UFC Vegas 49 conflict against Armen Petrosyan, the brother of legendary kickboxer Giorgio Petrosyan.
“Every fight that is going, relying on the victory, it puts you in a unique function [in the UFC],” Rodrigues advised MMA Fighting. “I simply became 30 and I nevertheless have a whole lot of paintings to be done. I’m no longer in a rush. I don't have any rush to be in this hype. I’m doing a great activity, a solid work, so I’ll stay on the pinnacle when I get there. I’m taking walks step by step.”
“Robocop” made his first Zuffa look in September 2020 when he lost with the aid of knockout to Jordan Williams at Dana White’s Contender Series. Rodrigues taken into consideration retiring from MMA after that combat, but ultimately secured a cope with LFA. In a span of three months, Rodrigues then stopped Al Matavao in his LFA debut, knocked out Josh Fremd to win the enterprise’s middleweight belt, and won a choice over Dusko Todorovic in his UFC debut.
“They already see me, I’m a risky guy for the department,” Rodrigues said. “I’m ready to combat all of us. I just like the fights the UFC books for me. They put me one step after the alternative. The assignment gets larger and bigger, but I like demanding situations. I’m pushed by means of challenges and that motivates me to maintain doing my pleasant.”
After his selection win over Todorovic in June 2021, Rodrigues back 4 months later to prevent Jun Yong Park in a struggle of attrition at UFC Vegas 41.
Now booked in opposition to a fellow DWCS alum, Rodrigues feels as if UFC is investing closely into Contender Series opponents, so he’s assured it’s going to be an remarkable fight in opposition to a veteran striker who holds 70 wins in kickboxing and over ninety documented bouts.
“He’s a kickboxer with exact placing, but I’ve been evolving loads on my standup,” he said. “I actually have a exquisite weapon on my favor — jiu-jitsu — and I trust it'll be the important thing on this combat. But you have to be prepared to mix things up and I’ve been operating on that. My buddies at Sanford MMA, my coaches, ‘Durinho’ [Gilbert Burns] helped me a lot throughout this transition so we ought to placed on notable performances within the UFC.
“I fit up well with everybody due to the fact my standup is super, my hands are heavy. I can both knock this man or publish him. … I’m equipped to knock him out, I’m confident on the ft. I like to reinvent myself. If he thinks I’m just a jiu-jitsu man, he’ll pass down with my hands.”
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