UFC’s Daniel Rodriguez Joins the Foos Fighting Championship Broadcast at Debut Event in California UFC Star Daniel Rodriguez Joins the Wild Recent ‘Foos Fighting Championship’ Broadcast in Los Angeles
A fresh kind of fight night is coming to California, bringing with it both chaos and charisma.
Daniel Rodriguez, the fan-favorite UFC fighter known as “D-Rod,” will take on a different role on Saturday, April 25. Instead of fighting, he will be cageside as a guest commentator during the UFC debut Foos Fighting Championshipa first-of-its-kind MMA event combining combat sports with viral street culture.
The event takes place in Burbank and will be broadcast live on multiple platforms, representing a bold fresh experiment in how fight promotions connect with fans.
A fresh twist in MMA broadcasting
Rodriguez will join the commentary team alongside “Concrete” and play-by-play announcer Ben “The Bane” Davis, bringing UFC-level insight to a card built around raw, unfiltered talent.
The event is co-promoted by COMBATE GLOBAL and viral comedy brand Foos Gone Wild – a collaboration that delivers entertainment and action in equal measure.
“I’ve been doing my homework on these idiots and I already know we’re going to see some diseased nitwits at La Jaula,” said Foos Gone Wild founder Lil’ Mr. E
COMBATE GLOBAL CEO Campbell McLaren added:
“This event puts a fun twist on the sport of MMA, but I think we’ll also see the emergence of some potential future stars that we wouldn’t necessarily have had the opportunity to look at if we hadn’t created this event…”
What is “Foos Fighting Championship”?
Think of it as a grassroots proving ground for personality.
Loosely inspired by Dana White’s Contender series, this concept fits the everyday fighter – the “fool” with a real reputation in the gym – on the inside CageCOMBATE GLOBAL cage.
Objective? Find another fugitive who might otherwise never get a chance.
Full fight card
Main event
Flyweight: Joseph Muñoz (2-0) vs. Ariel Huizar (4-3)
The most critical information on the main tab
Featherlight Heavyweight: Jake Lleckfelt (1-0) vs. Bobby Liles (0-0)
Featherweight: Ryan Pak (0-0) vs. Hansol Yi (0-0)
Lightweight: Carlos Meza (1-0) vs. Rey Rodriguez (0-5)
Catchweight (150 lbs): Khachic Vardanian (2-0) vs. Carlos Venebra (0-0)
Bantamweight: Erik Berganza (debut) vs. Jaeysen Jeff (2-4)
How to watch
Start time: 21:30 ET / 18:30 PT
Broadcast in English:
Samsung TV Plus (COMBATE GLOBAL channel)
YouTube (COMBATE GLOBAL channel)
Spanish broadcast:
EstrellaTV
Samsung TV Plus (Spanish channel)
Tickets
Fans in Southern California can attend the event live and tickets can be purchased on Ticketon.
Why this event is different
This is not your typical MMA show. It’s part fight card, part cultural crossover – designed to reach a younger, digital-native audience while still being truly competitive.
With a UFC star like Rodriguez on commentary and a platform that combines humor, identity and fighting, Foos Fighting Championship could become one of the most talked-about fresh formats in combat sports.
Kurtis
Campbell can't see his opponents clearly inside the
Octagon.
Campbell wears considerably thick-lensed glasses when out of
competition. The Liverpool native seems to be heavily dependent on
them, putting them back on immediately after his fights. Campbell
recently revealed that his eyesight is poor and that his opponents
appear blurry to him until they get close.
Kurtis Campbell explains why his UFC opponents appear blurry
across the Octagon
While Campbell tried contact lenses when he was young, he was too
nervous to put them in. The
Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight eventually got
used to fighting without contact lenses and prefers it this way
now.
“My eyesight is really bad, but at the same time I love my
glasses,†Campbell told Ariel Helwani. “I would never change them…
I tried contacts when I was younger, but I was always too nervous;
I couldn't put them in. So, I got used to fighting without them and
I don't think I've ever gone back since. I've always preferred it
that way… Because of how big the UFC cage is, [my opponent] is
blurry and then once we get closer, it gets a little better.â€
Campbell (9-1) earned his UFC contract with a first-round technical
knockout win on
Dana White's Contender Series last year. He then suffered a
knockout loss to Danny Silva
in his UFC debut in London this past March. “The Pink Pantherâ€
rebounded with a dominant submission win over Trevor Peek
at
UFC Paris.
Kurtis
Campbell reveals just how bad his eyesight is and why he still
refuses to wear contacts during fights despite struggling to see
his opponent clearly:
“My eyesight is really bad, but at the same time I love my
glasses… Because of how big the UFC cage is, [my opponent] is…
pic.twitter.com/xK8YqrzWkM
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani)
September 9, 2026
One of the more anticipated fights of Noche UFC almost went down three days early.
In the featured bout of Saturday's fight card in Glendale, Ariz., Tommy McMillen takes on fellow undefeated featherweight prospect Marwan Rahiki. The two fighters have gone back and forth in interviews about each other, and during a run-in at the fighter hotel, the two fighters ran into each other, and things got heated very quickly.
Check out the video, captured by JTMedia on Instagram.
McMillen and Rahiki both were able to get a shove or two off during the exchange, which was separated by multiple different people on the scene, along with UFC security.
The 28-year-old McMillen has burst onto the scene in a big way with two finishes and two bonuses, including a show-stealing performance at UFC Oklahoma City in July where he put up record-breaking striking numbers in his victory over Alberto Montes.
Rahiki has also finished both of his UFC opponents as he prepares for a massive opportunity against Rahiki.
NSAC doubles down on punishment for UFC 329 fighters, fines Paddy Pimblett and two other big names
Credit: Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC
It sounds like Professional Fighters League lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov's tenure is coming to an imminent conclusion.
Usman Nurmagomedov remains the top free agent in Mixed Martial Arts after his Professional Fighters League contract expired following a win over Archie Colgan earlier this year. The PFL lightweight champion recently turned down the league's reported $2 million initial offer to re-sign with the promotion, hinting at a potential move to the UFC.
Usman, the cousin of UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov, could potentially sign with the UFC after PFL contract talks have stalled out. If he signed with the UFC, he'll be a top threat in the stacked lightweight division.
Despite a potential UFC signing, the PFL could still offer Nurmagomedov a top-end deal to return to the league. But UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev, Nurmagomedov's teammate, recently expressed little chance of that coming to fruition.
Islam Makhachev hints at imminent Usman Nurmagomedov UFC signing
In a recent interview with Match TV, Makhachev was asked about the chances of Nurmagomedov signing with the UFC, and claimed there was a 90 percent chance of it coming to fruition.
“It's the perfect move for him; he needs to prove he's the best in the world. He could face a top-10 rival and soon earn a title shot,†Makhachev said of Nurmagomedov.
“He grew up alongside Khabib and me, has trained with the best from the start of his career and has extensive experience working with champions; now is the best time for him to join the UFC.†(h/t Bloody Elbow)
As of this writing, Nurmagomedov remains a free agent, but could potentially join the UFC in the coming weeks. Usman was in Umar Nurmagomedov's corner at UFC Shanghai last month.
Will Usman Nurmagomedov eventually win a UFC lightweight title? Share your thoughts in the comments!