Daniel Rodriguez was on the sidelines after his victory over Kevin Lee last August. Now that he is cleared to fight again, he will be available for anyone in the welterweight category — even Kevin Holland or Randy Brown.
“D-Rod” has been dealing with a hand injury for nearly a year but is looking to return later this summer following his third straight win at UFC Vegas 35. The 35-year-old has been called out by several welterweights, such as Holland, since he’s been on the sidelines. Rodriguez spoke with MMA Fighting about possible matchups against Holland Brown or Neil Magny. If either of them wants to fight, they will just need to pick up the telephone.
Rodriguez said to MMA Fighting Las Vegas that all of the matchups he was considering sound fantastic. I’ve always been there, but the dudes keep calling me out and s ***.. What’s up now, though? Because I am not hurt anymore, I will accept any challenge. Anyone who keeps asking me who I’m fighting next, who the f*** cares? I accept all y’all challenges. I’m open to all of your challenges. I’m ready. Let’s get this done.
“F*** all those fools, straight up. It was what I said. What’s up?”
According to MMA Fighting, Rodriguez had been aiming for a comeback at the start of 2022 following his injury against Lee. Rodriguez, a fighter who is normally active and very active has been waiting for medical clearance. He now has it.
” I’ve had three operations on my hand,” Rodriguez stated. Rodriguez said that he was cleared to work [around a month] years ago. Since then, he has been grinding.
“Everyone keeps saying, ‘Yo, when are you coming back? What’s the word on that?’ Talking to my coaches and my management, we’re looking at late August, early September. This would be great. That would be ideal.
Rodriguez is 6-1 inside the octagon, with the lone loss coming via a somewhat controversial decision to Nicolas Dalby at UFC 255 in November 2021. Additionally, the Syndicate MMA star holds promotions wins over Tim Means and Mike Perry. These victories helped him earn a place in UFC’s welterweight top -15..
While Rodriguez would love to face a big name should the opportunity arise, he’s more focused on getting back in there and fighting as frequently as he did before the hand injury.
“My main goal was to get back in shape to be able to take all of these short notice fights,” Rodriguez explained. “I’m back and I’m ready to take a fight. I will keep fit and be available for fights at short notice. I don’t give a f*** if it’s a ranked opponent, not ranked opponent, I want to fight and f*** dudes up.”
