Daniel Rodriguez thinks his Saturday opponent may have a little too much hype behind his name, and he wants to show the attention’s on the wrong guy.
Rodriguez (17-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) takes on unbeaten Irish prospect Ian Machado Garry (11-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in a featured bout on the UFC on ABC 4 main card Saturday at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C. The main card airs on ABC following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.
Rodriguez had some serious momentum halted this past November when he was submitted by Neil Magny and had a four-fight winning streak snapped. Included in that streak were wins against top-shelf names like Mike Perry, Li Jingliang and former interim lightweight title challenger Kevin Lee.
Before that, Rodriguez’s only two losses were a split decision in 2017 and a loss to Nicholas Dalby after he started his UFC tenure 3-0. He thought he was going to try to rebound against jiu-jitsu standout Gunnar Nelson until Nelson pulled out with an injury.
“(I want to) just bounce back from my last fight – in my opinion, my first real loss,” Garry said at Wednesday’s media day for UFC on ABC 4. “(I’m) just working on my holes and just trying to bounce back and come back stronger.
It’s a little bit of a better matchup – a whole different training camp. My last fight (against Magny) was a lot of grappling, and this one was like, ‘I get to do what I love to do – let’s focus on striking.'”
Garry is considered one of the top prospects in the UFC’s welterweight division. “The Future” is just 25 and trains at Kill Cliff FC in South Florida with renowned striking coach Henri Hooft. Against Rodriguez, the former Cage Warriors champ has arguably his toughest and most accomplished test yet, particularly in name value after UFC fights against Jordan Williams, Darian weeks, Gabe Green and Song Kenan.
“I had only heard his name once,” Rodriguez said of Garry. “I didn’t really think nothing much of it. The only reason why I took this fight is he called me out on a social media post saying he could outstrike me. So I’m going to hold him to that. … I feel like he’s still very green and young in the game and in the sport. I feel like I’m his toughest matchup to date. He ain’t really fought nobody, really. He’s still young and he needs to be humbled, and I’m here to humble him.
“It’s not really about his skill. I mean, he does have a pretty good skill set. I don’t think he’s ready for it. He’s not a phenom. He’s not knocking dudes out. He’s not like he’s got a little hype off of him. I feel like they’re building him up, and I’m here to take all that away.”
Rodriguez said he does think it’ll be a standup matchup – one of those proverbial Fight of the Night on paper type of fights. Garry has been a favorite of at least 2-1 in all his UFC fights so far; the oddsmakers have him around -250 against Rodriguez, and he was a more than 7-1 favorite ahead of his third-round TKO win over Kenan in March, in which he had to rally.
But Rodriguez does wonder if Garry might not be ready for his striking.
“I see a banger – one (punch) for one (punch), one for the fans,” Rodriguez said. “I don’t believe that he’s been hit as hard as I could hit. I’m a real dog in there, and he’s going to have me in his face the whole time. I could see him backing away and running away from me the whole time.
“His last opponent, (Kenan), I hate to say it, but he’s one of those guys where you’re supposed to beat that guy. I’d destroy that guy if I fought that guy, and (Kenan) dropped him. That just goes to (show) it’s a little suspect, his chin and his experience level. He pulled through that and was able to win the fight, but I think in a situation where he’s fighting a real dog like me – I don’t train to fight. I train to finish, and I’ve got a lot riding on this fight. I’m coming off a loss, and I didn’t fight Gunnar Nelson, but I felt like I’ve been in a fight camp. I’ve been in a real long fight camp and I’m more prepared than I’ve ever been. I’ve been just the most consistent and most dedicated I’ve been for a fight in a long time.
“I don’t put pressure on myself. I say I’ve got a lot riding on this is because I’ve got a lot planned for the future. I’m thinking ahead. I do plan on showing I’m the better fighter. I belong in my position, and he’s not ready for me.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ABC 4.
