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‘They need to make a movie out of this, bro’: Daniel Rodriguez grateful to get UFC Belgrade headline spot after 8 months in Mexican prison

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1 month ago

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‘They need to make a movie out of this, bro’: Daniel Rodriguez grateful to get UFC Belgrade headline spot after 8 months in Mexican prison

Daniel Rodriguez has had a crazy year, and now he gets to return to doing what he loves most when he faces Uros Medic in the main event of UFC Belgrade this Saturday.

“Man, I'm super excited,†Rodriguez told MMA Fighting. “I'm feeling very grateful and fortunate to be here, man. It's been a long road and I'm excited to fight on Saturday.â€

In April, Rodriguez was released from a Mexican jail after being imprisoned for eight months due to an arrest at the border when he was caught in possession of marijuana. “D-Rod†gets a massive opportunity riding a three-fight win streak, including a decision win over Kevin Holland a year ago in a wild battle at UFC 318.

Rodriguez was asked if he had doubts he'd ever fight again while sitting behind bars.

“Yeah, man, 100 percent,†Rodriguez said. “There was a moment in time where I wasn't sure if I was going to get out and be able to continue my career. They wanted to actually give me a couple years, man, and if that was the case, I knew for sure my career was over.

“It was an emotional roller coaster in there, especially coming off a huge win, the biggest win of my life, and then to be thrown in a jail cell and not knowing, what was going to happen was definitely super stressful. But there was a small part of me that told me like, things were going to work out, and that's what kept me motivated to train, and to continue to work out and try to do anything possible to stay in shape. I just had faith that I'd be able to do this. And sure enough, and now I'm headlining the UFC event. It's a dream come true, man.â€

The 39-year-old got a late start in the game as he didn't step into his first MMA gym until he was 25. He parlayed that into a 10-4 record in 14 octagon appearances, which also includes wins over Mike Perry and Kevin Lee, while getting valuable experience along the way.

Rodriguez learned even more about himself while in prison, and now sees things in a much different way.

“I'm a survivor, man,†Rodriguez explained. “I can overcome any situation that you could throw at me. If I could take anything from that experience is just loving life and living a life to its utmost potential. I'm grateful to be here and I'm lucky. Man, I'm lucky.

“I was in there with people that are never getting out, and it made me appreciate my life so much more. And I'm here now, and days away from one of the biggest fights in my life and I come out with the victory this Saturday, and I'm going to start trying to pitch my story to Hollywood, man. They need to make a movie out of this, bro.â€

Medic gets the hometown headline spot as he attempts to play spoiler to Rodriguez's comeback story. “The Doctor†is also riding a three-fight win streak, finishing all of his opponents in the first round. In his most recent outing, Medic destroyed perennial welterweight contender Geoff Neal in just 79 seconds.

Rodriguez has been through much worse than being the away team in a UFC fight, which is why he believes getting his hand raised will be as memorable a moment as he's ever experienced.

“When I get my hand raised, I don't really know how I'm going to feel,†Rodriguez said. “I'm just going to know that I've been through a lot this past year, and it's been ups and downs. And to go out there and get my hand raised on Saturday, man, it's definitely going to be like my greatest victory ever. Just for the fact that I came back, and the feeling that I have right now, it's a great feeling.

“Because when I first got out of jail, I was struggling, man. It was so hard to get back into shape and I just trusted all the hard work that was ahead of me and I knew that I was going to be able to get back in shape. And sure enough, man, I just bit down on my mouthguard, man and just trusted the process and getting my hand raised on Saturday is going to make it all come together, man.

“This whole process, it's been a battle, man. And I'm grateful to be here and I can't wait to go out there on Saturday and just put my heart out on the line again, man.â€

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MMA

Shavkat Rakhmonov admits UFC return is far from guaranteed

Published

2 hours ago

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September 8, 2026

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Shavkat Rakhmonov admits UFC return is far from guaranteed
Shavkat
Rakhmonov isn’t ready to say that his
Ultimate Fighting Championship career is over, but the unbeaten
welterweight admits his return is far from guaranteed.

Rakhmonov has been sidelined since defeating Ian Garry in
December 2024. He entered that bout with a knee injury and it left
a long-lasting impact. In a new interview, he reflected on the
fight and where he stands in the 170-pound division.

Shavkat Rakhmonov details the knee injury that has kept him
sidelined since beating Ian Garry

“Nomad†admits that he should not have competed with his injury. He
also took a shot at Dagestani stars Khabib
Nurmagomedov and Islam
Makhachev, claiming they would never fight injured.

“Well, that's my problem; I couldn't fight,†Rakhmonov told Alf
Global. “If I had fought, I could've become champion, but that's
how it turned out. I was injured. What can I do? We are only human.
I actually shouldn't even have fought Ian Garry at
all. With injuries like that, I shouldn't have fought at all; I
just took a risk. That's the Kazakh way. Kazakhs are very daring.
They're not afraid. If it had been some other Dagestani fighter
like Khabib or Islam Makhachev, they definitely would've
refused.â€

Rakhmonov then delved deeper into how his injury worsened during
the Garry fight.

“I already had an injury going into the Ian Garry fight,†he added.
“I stepped in; I hadn't fought for a year; I wanted to fight. That
old injury was still bothering me a lot. My leg was swollen. And
when he was striking me, it was probably because I completely
lacked a ligament. I couldn't really feel that strike, in
general.â€

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MMA

Salahdine Parnasse calls out Max Holloway following showstopping UFC debut

Published

4 hours ago

on

September 8, 2026

By

Salahdine Parnasse calls out Max Holloway following showstopping UFC debut
Salahdine
Parnasse made a statement in his
Ultimate Fighting Championship debut.

The former two-division
KSW champion stopped Dan Hooker
with a body kick and follow-up strikes in the first round of the

UFC Paris main event. Parnasse subsequently reiterated his
claim that he's already one of the best in the world.

Salahdine Parnasse targets Max Holloway after stopping Dan
Hooker at UFC Paris

Parnasse carried a five-fight win streak into his Octagon debut and
is high in confidence after a near-perfect introduction to UFC
fans. He was in good spirits after the fight, claiming that his
performance reflects just how dangerous he is to other UFC
lightweights.

“I threw the kick and then I threw a punch and to be honest with
you, I got to rewatch the fight, but I don't remember exactly
everything,†Parnasse said in a post-fight interview. “I showed
that I'm one of the best in the world, I showed that I'm dangerous
and I'm here.â€

The Frenchman also called for a matchup with former UFC champion
Max
Holloway, emphasizing that the request comes from admiration
rather than disrespect.

“Like I said, I want to fight Max Holloway; I know he's a legend,â€
Parnasse added. “This is not trash talking; this is just a dream
that I've had for a long time and out of respect, I really want to
face a legend like Max.â€

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MMA

Oumar Sy admits chasing UFC Paris finish backfired in upset loss

Published

6 hours ago

on

September 8, 2026

By

Oumar Sy admits chasing UFC Paris finish backfired in upset loss
Oumar
Sy wanted to give French fans a stoppage win to celebrate,
resulting in his loss.

Sy was a -210 favorite going into his
Ultimate Fighting Championship clash against Modestas
Bukauskas in front of a home crowd at
UFC Paris. He now admits that chasing the finish led to his
defeat.

Oumar Sy says pursuing a stoppage against Modestas Bukauskas
contributed to his UFC Paris defeat

Sy dominated Bukauskas in the first round, landing brutal elbows
towards the end of the round with referee Jason Herzog watching
very closely. Bukauskas was barely saved by the bell, with Herzog
warning him to defend himself. While Sy started the second round
with the same dominance, Bukauskas was able to return to his feet
and defend a desperate takedown attempt. Bukauskas then dropped Sy
with a knee and rained vicious follow-up shots to earn a shocking
upset win.

Sy apologized to his fans, whom he wanted to give a stoppage win.
However, he assures that the loss won't deter him from pursuing his
goals and that he will only bounce back stronger.

“To those of you who support me in victory and defeat alike, I want
to offer my apologies,†Sy wrote on Instagram. “I wanted to give
you a win; I wanted to secure the finish and leave the cage with a
positive result. MMA isn't just a sport to me. It's my life. It
involves sacrifices, doubts, pain, giving things up, and
battles—but I chose this life. I will always give my all to achieve
my goals. This loss changes nothing regarding my intentions or what
I am willing to do to keep moving forward. The journey continues.
This loss is part of my story, but it will never define what comes
next. We will come back better and stronger than before.â€

While Sy (12-3) was a highly touted undefeated prospect when he
joined the UFC in 2024, he has gone 3-3 in the promotion. This was
Sy's second consecutive stoppage loss, following a submission
defeat to Ion
Cutelaba this past March.

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