Gregory Felipe Santos Rodrigues (born February 17, 1992) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is an eight-time National BJJ Champion. He was the Smash Global MMA Middleweight Champion and former Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) Middleweight Champion.
Gregory Rodrigues | |
---|---|
Born | Gregory Felipe Santos Rodrigues[1] February 17, 1992 Porto Velho, Rondônia, Brazil |
Other names | Robocop |
Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
Weight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb) |
Division | Middleweight |
Reach | 75 in (191 cm)[2] |
Fighting out of | Deerfield Beach, Florida, U.S. |
Team | X-Gym (formerly)[3] Usina de Campeões (formerly)[3] Black House (2018–2020)[3][4] Kings MMA (2020–2021)[4] Kill Cliff FC (2021–present)[5] |
Rank | Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu[6] under Henrique Machado[3] |
Years active | 2014–present |
Mixed martial arts record | |
Total | 21 |
Wins | 16 |
By knockout | 10 |
By submission | 3 |
By decision | 3 |
Losses | 5 |
By knockout | 3 |
By decision | 2 |
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog |
Background
editBorn in Porto Velho, Gregory came to Manaus when he was still four months old. He was introduced to martial arts since he was five years old, starting out with capoeira, before migrating to jiu-jitsu at 8 years old and eventually becoming a black belt under Senseí Henrique Machado, who was also Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza’s jiu-jitsu coach. He became an eight-time national jiu-jitsu champion, jiu-jitsu world champion, and professional world champion in Abu Dhabi. He also trained in Olympic wrestling with professor Waldeci, joining the Brazilian wrestling cadet team and becoming the runner-up at Pan American wrestling championships in Nicaragua. In 2014, he moved to Rio de Janeiro to start his professional MMA career.[6][7][8]
Mixed martial arts career
editEarly career
editStarting his professional career in 2014, Rodrigues went 7–2 fighting mostly on the Brazilian regional scene, picking up wins in promotions such as ACB, where he picked up a first-round TKO victory at ACB 73 and winning the Smash Global Middleweight title also picking up a unanimous decision win at LFA 71.[9]
He was invited to compete against Jordan Williams at Dana White's Contender Series 33 on September 15, 2020. He lost the fight via first-round knockout.[10]
He would make his return to LFA, entering the four-man tournament for the LFA Middleweight Championship. In the first round, Rodrigues faced Al Matavao at LFA 102, where he knocked Matavao out in the second round.[11] In the finals at LFA 108, Rodrigues stopped Josh Fremd within a round to claim the vacant LFA Middleweight Championship. Within days off the victory, Rodrigues was asked to compete in the UFC on short notice.[12][13]
Ultimate Fighting Championship
editRodrigues, as a replacement for Maki Pitolo, faced Duško Todorović on June 5, 2021, at UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Sakai.[14] He won the bout via unanimous decision.[15]
Rodrigues faced Jun Yong Park on October 23, 2021, at UFC Fight Night: Costa vs. Vettori.[16] He won the fight via knockout in round two.[17] This fight earned him Fight of the Night award.[18]
Rodrigues faced Armen Petrosyan on February 26, 2022, at UFC Fight Night: Makhachev vs. Green.[19] He lost the fight via controversial split decision.[20] 10 out of 14 media outlets scored the fight for Rodrigues.[21]
Rodrigues faced Julian Marquez, replacing Wellington Turman, on June 18, 2022, at UFC on ESPN 37.[22] He won the bout in the first round via knockout.[23] This win earned him his first Performance of the Night award.[24]
Rodrigues faced Chidi Njokuani on September 17, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 210.[25] He won the fight via technical knockout in round two.[26] This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award.[27]
Rodrigues was scheduled to face Brad Tavares on January 21, 2023, at UFC 283.[28] However, Tavares withdrawn from the bout due to an injury,[29] and he was replaced by promotional newcomer Brunno Ferreira.[30] He lost the fight via knockout in the first round.[31]
Rodrigues faced Denis Tiuliulin on August 19, 2023, at UFC 292. The bout was originally set for June 24, 2023, at UFC on ABC 5, but was postponed after Tiuliulin withdrew due to undisclosed reasons.[32][33] He won the bout via knockout in round one.[34]
Rodrigues faced Brad Tavares on February 10, 2024, at UFC Fight Night 236.[35] He won the bout by technical knockout in the third round.[36]
As a replacement for Robert Bryczek who withdrew for unknown reasons, Rodrigues faced Christian Leroy Duncan on July 27, 2024 at UFC 304.[37] He won the fight by unanimous decision.[38]
Rodrigues is scheduled to face former UFC Middleweight title challenger Jared Cannonier in the main event on February 15, 2025, at UFC Fight Night 251.[39]
Championships and accomplishments
edit- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Fight of the Night (Two times) vs. Jun Yong Park and Chidi Njokuani[18][27]
- Performance of the Night (One time) vs. Julian Marquez[24]
- Legacy Fighting Alliance
- LFA Middleweight Champion (One time) [12]
- SMASH Global
- SMASH Global Middleweight Championship (One time)[40]
Mixed martial arts record
edit21 matches | 16 wins | 5 losses |
By knockout | 10 | 3 |
By submission | 3 | 0 |
By decision | 3 | 2 |
Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Win | 16–5 | Christian Leroy Duncan | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 304 | July 27, 2024 | 3 | 5:00 | Manchester, England | |
Win | 15–5 | Brad Tavares | TKO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Pyfer | February 10, 2024 | 3 | 0:55 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
Win | 14–5 | Denis Tiuliulin | KO (elbows) | UFC 292 | August 19, 2023 | 1 | 1:43 | Boston, Massachusetts, United States | |
Loss | 13–5 | Brunno Ferreira | KO (punch) | UFC 283 | January 21, 2023 | 1 | 4:13 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |
Win | 13–4 | Chidi Njokuani | TKO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Song | September 17, 2022 | 2 | 1:27 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Fight of the Night. |
Win | 12–4 | Julian Marquez | KO (punches) | UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Emmett | June 18, 2022 | 1 | 3:18 | Austin, Texas, United States | Performance of the Night. |
Loss | 11–4 | Armen Petrosyan | Decision (split) | UFC Fight Night: Makhachev vs. Green | February 26, 2022 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
Win | 11–3 | Park Jun-yong | KO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Costa vs. Vettori | October 23, 2021 | 2 | 3:13 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Fight of the Night. |
Win | 10–3 | Duško Todorović | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Sakai | June 5, 2021 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
Win | 9–3 | Josh Fremd | KO (punches) | LFA 108 | May 21, 2021 | 1 | 2:20 | Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States | Won the LFA Middleweight Tournament and the vacant LFA Middleweight Championship. |
Win | 8–3 | Al Matavao | KO (punch) | LFA 102 | March 19, 2021 | 2 | 1:02 | Shawnee, Oklahoma, United States | LFA Middleweight Tournament Semifinal; Rodrigues missed weight (187.4 lb). |
Loss | 7–3 | Jordan Williams | KO (punches) | Dana White's Contender Series 33 | September 15, 2020 | 1 | 2:19 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
Win | 7–2 | Brandon Hester | KO (body kick) | SMASH Global 9 | December 19, 2019 | 1 | 3:03 | Hollywood, California, United States | Won the SG Middleweight Championship. |
Win | 6–2 | Tanner Saraceno | Decision (unanimous) | LFA 71 | July 12, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Atlanta, Georgia, United States | |
Win | 5–2 | Edilberto de Oliveira | Submission (armbar) | Jaguar Combat 1 | March 16, 2018 | 1 | 4:59 | Manaus, Brazil | |
Win | 4–2 | Umar Gaisumov | TKO (punches) | ACB 73 | October 21, 2017 | 1 | 2:43 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |
Win | 3–2 | Robert Reed | TKO (submission to punches) | Island Fights 39 | November 18, 2016 | 2 | 1:12 | Pensacola, Florida, United States | |
Win | 2–2 | Marco Aurélio | Submission (heel hook) | Face to Face 13 | March 12, 2016 | 2 | 0:54 | São Gonçalo, Brazil | |
Loss | 1–2 | Renato Rangel | Decision (split) | Face to Face 11 | April 24, 2015 | 3 | 5:00 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |
Win | 1–1 | Douglas Carvalho | Submission (armbar) | Face to Face 9 | December 19, 2014 | 1 | 2:09 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |
Loss | 0–1 | Bruno Lopes | TKO (punches) | Jungle Fight 73 | September 6, 2014 | 1 | 1:05 | São Paulo, Brazil |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Gregory Rodrigues MMA Fighter Page". Tapology. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
- ^ a b "Stats | UFC". ufcstats.com.
- ^ a b c d Evelyn Rodrigues (June 5, 2021). "UFC: Gregory Robocop explica apelido e garante grande luta contra Dusko Todorovic". globo.com (in Brazilian Portuguese).
- ^ a b Gregory Rodrigues [@gregoryrodriguesmma] (October 27, 2020). "You Can Begin Again: No Matter What, It's Never Too Late. By: Joyce MeyerI appreciate you master @kingsmma_hb for open the door of your house for me and thank you everyone there for received me so well! It's a new chapter!!" – via Instagram.
- ^ Cageside Press (March 16, 2021). Gregory Rodrigues on Move to Sanford MMA, Taking Tournament One Fight at a Time | LFA 102 – via YouTube.
- ^ a b "Gregory Rodrigues | UFC". UFC.com. 26 May 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
- ^ Siqueira, Emanuel Mendes (27 May 2021). "Gregory Rodrigues é novo representante do Amazonas no UFC: 'Estou pronto' | Emanuel Sports" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2022-02-26.
- ^ "Lutador do AM enfrenta ex-Bellator em busca de chance por cinturão no LFA | Esportes". A Crítica. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
- ^ FightBookMMA (2019-07-14). "Official results and video highlights for LFA 71: Jackson vs. Souza | FightBook MMA". Retrieved 2022-02-26.
- ^ Alexander K. Lee (August 22, 2018). "Contender Series fighters Anthony Hernandez, Jordan Williams sanctioned for failing drug tests". mmafighting.com.
- ^ "LFA 102 results: Souza outworks Johns, Gregory Rodrigues reaches tourney final". MMA Junkie. 2021-03-20. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
- ^ a b "LFA 108 video: Gregory Rodrigues hits first-round walk-off KO to win middleweight title". MMA Junkie. 2021-05-22. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
- ^ Cruz, Guilherme (2021-06-03). "A 24-hour reign: How Gregory Rodrigues landed deal for short-notice UFC debut one day after winning LFA belt". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
- ^ Farah Hannoun (May 25, 2021). "With Maki Pitolo out, LFA champ Gregory Rodrigues steps in to face Dusko Todorovic at UFC Fight Night 189". MMAjunkie.com.
- ^ Bitter, Shawn (2021-06-05). "UFC Vegas 28 Results: Gregory Rodrigues Wins Octagon Debut Against Dusko Todorovic". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2021-06-06.
- ^ Dorff, Marcel (2021-08-10). "Jun Yong Park treft Gregory Rodrigues tijdens UFC evenement op 23 oktober". MMA DNA (in Dutch). Retrieved 2021-08-10.
- ^ Anderson, Jay (2021-10-23). "UFC Vegas 41 Results: Gregory Rodrigues Stops Jun Yong Park in Second". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2021-10-23.
- ^ a b Stafflanguage=en-US (2021-10-24). "UFC Fight Night 196 bonuses: Marvin Vettori gets extra $50,000 – but none for Paulo Costa". MMA Junkie. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
- ^ Dorff, Marcel (2021-12-11). "Gregory Rodrigues treft Armen Petrosyan tijdens UFC evenement op 26 februari". MMA DNA (in Dutch). Retrieved 2022-02-23.
- ^ Bitter, Shawn (2022-02-26). "UFC Vegas 49: Armen Petrosyan Ekes Out Split Decision Over Gregory Rodrigues". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
- ^ "Armen Petrosyan def. Gregory Rodrigues :: UFC on ESPN+ 60 :: MMA Decisions". mmadecisions.com. Retrieved 2022-03-01.
- ^ Guilherme Cruz (2022-04-15). "With Wellington Turman out, Julian Marquez now meets Gregory Rodrigues at June 18 UFC card". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2022-04-15.
- ^ Anderson, Jay (18 June 2022). "UFC Austin: Gregory Rodrigues Stops Julian Marquez in Slugfest". Cageside Press. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
- ^ a b MMA Fighting Newswire (2022-06-18). "UFC Austin post-fight bonuses: All finishers earn $50k payouts". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2022-06-18.
- ^ Cruz, Guilherme (2022-06-25). "Gregory Rodrigues vs. Chidi Njokuani set for Sept. 17 UFC event". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2022-06-27.
- ^ Law, Eddie (2022-09-17). "UFC Vegas 60: Gregory Rodrigues Survives Getting Hurt Early, Nasty Cut, Wins Via R2 TKO". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
- ^ a b Staff (2022-09-17). "UFC Fight Night 210 bonuses: Gregory Rodrigues lived up to his nickname for extra $50,000". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
- ^ Jay Anderson (2022-09-28). "Gregory Rodrigues vs. Brad Tavares Booked for UFC 283". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
- ^ Nolan King (2023-01-10). "Brad Tavares out of UFC 283 matchup vs. Gregory Rodrigues". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
- ^ Guilherme Cruz (2023-01-11). "Brad Tavares out, Brunno Ferreira in against Gregory Rodrigues at UFC 283". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
- ^ Shawn Bitter (2023-01-21). "UFC 283: Short-notice replacement Brunno Ferreira stuns Gregory Rodrigues". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
- ^ Vipin Raghuwanshi (2023-06-07). "Gregory Rodrigues vs Denis Tiuliulin Rescheduled for UFC 292". itnwwe.com. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
- ^ Anderson, Jay (2023-05-02). "Gregory Rodrigues vs. Denis Tiuliulin Announced for UFC Jacksonville". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2023-05-03.
- ^ Dewar, Val (2023-08-19). "UFC 292: Gregory Rodrigues Separates Denis Tiuliulin From Consciousness with Elbow". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
- ^ "Gregory Rodrigues to meet Brad Tavares in middleweight bout at UFC Fight Night on Feb. 10". MMA Junkie. 2023-11-15. Retrieved 2023-11-16.
- ^ Anderson, Jay (2024-02-11). "UFC Vegas 86: Gregory Rodrigues Explodes in Third, TKOs Brad Tavares". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
- ^ "UFC 304: Savage Middleweight Strikers Clash at Manchester PPV". Sports Illustrated MMA News, Analysis and More. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
- ^ Jay Anderson (2024-07-27). "UFC 304: Gregory Rodrigues Captures One-Sided Victory Over Christian Leroy Duncan". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
- ^ Pekios, Craig (2024-12-03). "'Robocop' Books First UFC Main Event Against Jared Cannonier on February 15". www.lowkickmma.com. Retrieved 2024-12-04.
- ^ Andrew (2019-12-20). "Smash Global - 19 December 2019 - Quick Results". SoCalUNCENSORED.com. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
- ^ Sherdog.com. "Gregory Rodrigues". Sherdog.