Seeing as he is such a big boxing fan, it begs the question: Who does Rodriguez think has the best boxing on the UFC roster?
“I really like Max Holloway’s style, but I don’t know,” he said, pausing for a few seconds. “Actually, best boxing in MMA… There’s this guy I know. He’s pretty dope. His name is D-Rod.”
Sly candor aside, Rodriguez feels like he is finally coming into his own, both physically and mentally. Part of the mental side of the game he had to learn was when and where to listen to his body and take the necessary breaks needed to be at full strength in training. Focusing more on a sprint-based approach to strength-and-conditioning, he is finding the balance in that work as well as the normal cardio work he did before.
It’s all a part of his maturity as a mixed martial artist, and he’s learning how to apply that to every aspect of the fight game.
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“I remember when I first started, I didn’t take the weight cuts and training as serious,” Rodriguez said. “Now I realize every single guy I’ll face is world-class, so I owe it to myself and my journey to take this s*** professionally. Everything I do, I gotta be professional in how I eat, how I sleep, how I train, how I conduct myself when it’s time to be on camera and do these interviews and stuff.”
Rodriguez feels like he has everything coming together as he looks to traverse the welterweight landscape. He hopes a win over Sato continues that journey upward and is especially excited to compete so close to what is now known as “Kobe Bryant Day” in Orange County on August 24, which references the late-NBA legend’s two numbers (eight and 24) he wore throughout his career with the Los Angeles Lakers. Rodriguez’ mouthguard features the Lakers’ purple-and-gold as well as the numbers eight and 24, and after his last fight ended, he yelled “Kobe” to the cameras.
He joked he might need to bring his Kobe jersey with him to Las Vegas, but more than that, Rodriguez is just excited and hopeful that his next fight earns him more fans and more respect as a threat to the 170-pound division. With everything going his way lately, he feels like this is the exact right time to make his climb up the ladder.
“I’m peaking right now,” Rodriguez said. “I’m killing it right now. I’m killing it.”
