On a recent episode of the Simple Man Podcast, Nick Rodriguez confirmed details of his submission grappling match at UFC BJJ. The booking came together on short notice with Rodriguez stepping in after a spot opened up on the card.
“Like two and a half weeks, three weeks,” Rodriguez said of the timeline. “I think somebody dropped out of their card and I was like in the middle of negotiating with UFC. They’re like, ‘You just want to hop on this one?’ I was like, ‘Yeah.’
The arrangement is a one match deal with no exclusive contract attached. The format is three five minute rounds and Rodriguez said the setup suits his style.
“I like the bowl. It’s hard to anti-jiu. For me in matches, the more jist happens, the better.”
The conversation then shifted to ADCC where Rodriguez shared his view that the organization has passed its highest point.
“Compared to like the last few, I think we’ve reached the peak,” Damien Andersen said.
Nicky Ryan pointed to the decision to hold the next event in Poland as a misstep and argued the event should remain in the United States. Rordiguez called it a bad decision.
“How can you not do it in the US, man? Like, are you kidding me? In Vegas, everyone will go to Vegas.”
Ryan also raised concerns about UFC exclusivity contracts cutting into ADCC’s talent pool.
“I think with UFC going on and them doing exclusive contracts, it’s going to kind of hinder ADCC a little bit,” he said.
As for CJI Rodriguez said almost nothing has been made public beyond names such as Craig Jones and Dillon Danis.
“It’s just Craig and Dillon. That’s the only thing that’s been announced. No dates, no prize money announced. At least to my knowledge, I could be wrong.”
Ryan did credit ADCC for raising its prize money and called it a move in the right direction though his broader comments suggested the increased payouts alone may not reverse the organization’s decline.
“It’s definitely a step in the right direction,” he said.
