Gregory Rodrigues, UFC 304 ceremonial weigh-in Credit score: Patrick McCorry/Cageside Press
“Robocop” has a “Killa Gorilla” in his sights, as Gregory Rodrigues will get his first UFC primary occasion this February reverse Jared Cannonier.
A conflict of middleweight heavy hitters, Cannonier vs. Rodrigues was introduced by promotion officers because the UFC Vegas 102 primary occasion on Monday. The cardboard takes place February 15, 2025 on the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Cannonier (17-8) confronted then-champ Israel Adesanya again in 2022 for the UFC’s 185lb title, dropping a choice. After profitable his subsequent two fights, Cannonier has misplaced two straight, in opposition to Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho. At 40, a title shot seems out of attain, with the UFC using the Texas-born fighter as a high-level gatekeeper.
Brazil’s “Robocop” Rodrigues (16-5) is a former LFA champion with a penchant for violence. 5 of his seven wins within the UFC have come through stoppage; he rides a three-fight win streak into UFC Vegas 102, having overwhelmed Denis Tiuliulin, Brad Tavares, and Christian Leeroy Duncan in that stretch.
Rodrigues just isn’t at present ranked within the promotion’s prime 15, whereas Jared Cannonier sits at #8. That provides the fighter identified for bearing a slight resemblance to U.S. President Barack Obama (“Robobama”) a shot at cracking the middleweight rankings.
The next match-ups have been reported for UFC Vegas 102 so far:
Jared Cannonier vs. Gregory Rodrigues
Jared Gordon vs. Kauê Fernandes
Rodolfo Vieira vs. Jacob Malkoun
Don’Story Mayes vs. Valter Walker
Rafael Estevam vs. Jesús Santos Aguilar
Julia Avila vs. Jacqueline Cavalcanti
Ismael Bonfim vs. Nazim Sadykhov
Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Gabriel Bonfim
Jose Delgado vs. Connor Matthews
Billy Goff vs. Nikolay Veretennikov
Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Dylan Budka
Vince Morales vs. Elijah Smith
