Nick “Nicky Rod” Rodriguez left UFC BJJ 9 with a submission win and a clear message for the promotion: put up a million dollars and build a high stakes jiu jitsu tournament. And naturally UFC responded by not even posting his press conference segment.
The call came after Rodriguez was asked about Craig Jones‘ announcement that Craig Jones Invitational 2.5 and 3 had been scrapped. Rodriguez kept his response brief.
“I heard it was scrapped. I have no thoughts or comments on it.”
When pressed on whether Jones’ social media comments caught his attention, Rodriguez explained that he largely stays off social media platforms.
“I honestly miss a lot of the social media stuff. I don’t go on it too much. I have somebody that runs a couple of my social media accounts, so most of the time it’s not me. I kind of live my life without my phone most of the time.”
With CJI apparently off the table, the interviewer asked whether a similar format could work under the UFC banner. Rodriguez did not hesitate.
“If UFC wants to put up a million-dollar tournament, let’s do it. That sounds great.”
He argued that large prize purses attract attention far beyond the traditional jiu jitsu audience.
“When the stakes are that high, everybody’s intrigued. You hear 1 million, 2 million, even people that are not interested in jiu-jitsu, they’re like, ‘Oh, this is life-changing money. Let’s tune in to see it.'”
UFC BJJ pay is believed to be substantially less. Gadelha stated that exclusive UFC BJJ athletes competing four times a year are earning between 500,000 and 800,000 Brazilian reais annually. At current exchange rates, that translates to roughly $97,000 to $155,000.
UFC BJJ press conference featured Gadelha, Mason Fowler and Gilbert Burns. Nick Rodriguez and Ffion Davies were relegated to the channel of longtime MMA media industry plant John Morgan who is infamous for asking softwall questions.
Rodriguez entered the event making his debut at 205 lbs (93 kg), having reduced his weight from a typical walk around weight of 225 lbs (102 kg). He described the process as manageable.
“I wouldn’t say it was incredibly difficult because I’m a pretty muscular guy. I hold a lot of water. I usually walk around 225 and cleaned up the diet a little bit. So I was like 218ish and then, you know, started coming back on calories and it wasn’t too bad. It’s very doable and I look forward to competing at 205 again.”
On the submission itself, Rodriguez explained that his original plan changed during the match.
“I actually thought I was going to leg lock him, but I’ll take a RNC. Can’t go wrong with it.”
Rodriguez also turned his attention toward a title rematch with champion Mason Fowler, whom he previously defeated.
“I’m anticipating it. I’m prepared for it. I have a win over the champ, I believe maybe one or two years ago, and I’m looking forward to going out there and taking that belt.”
When asked about a timeline for the potential title contest, Rodriguez kept the answer simple: before the end of the summer.
