Rivalries: Daniel Rodriguez

The ice on which Daniel Rodriguez stands in the Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight division seems to have grown perilously thin.

“D-Rod” will seek his first win in more than two years when he faces Fortis MMA’s Alex Morono in a featured UFC Fight Night 244 attraction this Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Rodriguez, 37, enters the cage on a career-worst three-fight losing streak. He last suited up at UFC on ABC 6, where he dropped a three-round unanimous decision to “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 17 winner Kevin Gastelum on June 22.

As Rodriguez approaches his looming showdown with Morono at 170 pounds, a look at a few of the rivalries that have helped shape his career to this point:

Tim Means

Rodriguez shined in his Octagon debut, as he disposed of the former King of the Cage champion in the second round of their featured UFC Fight Night 167 prelim on Feb. 15, 2020 at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Means conceded defeat 3:37 into Round 2. A short-notice replacement for Ramazan Emeev, Rodriguez could not have made a stronger first impression. He obliged Means with standup exchanges and turned around a competitive first round when he floored “The Dirty Bird” at the horn. Rodriguez had his counterpart reeling with punches again in the middle stanza, pushed him backward and clamped down on an opportunistic guillotine while still standing.

Nicolas Dalby

Buoyed by a commitment to leg, body and head kicks, the former Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder captured a unanimous decision over Rodriguez as part of the UFC 255 undercard on Nov. 21, 2020 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three cageside judges scored it for Dalby: 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28. A late-notice fill-in for Orion Cosce, Rodriguez struggled to find a pace and range with which he was comfortable. He was most effective when he pushed Dalby backward and cut loose with power punches, but he often engaged from the outside and allowed the Rumble Sports standout too much freedom of movement. Dalby continued to attack with kicks to all levels and survived a brush with danger late in the third round, where Rodriguez appeared to daze him with an overhand left. The loss was Rodriguez’s first in nearly three years.

Jingliang Li

A persistent jab, occasional counters and sustained output carried Rodriguez to a contentious split decision over the China Top Team product in their UFC 279 catchweight showcase on Sept. 10, 2022 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. All three cageside judges scored it 29-28: Michael Bell and Douglas Crosby for Rodriguez, Ron McCarthy for Li. Every round was closely contested. Operating in the shadows of the Nate Diaz-Tony Ferguson headliner, Rodriguez focused his attention on the head with intermittent combinations he set up with the jab. Li zeroed in on the body and legs with heavy kicks, while mixing in sporadic crosses and overhands upstairs. He slowed down in the third round, where Rodriguez continued to unleash his jab, sometimes two and three at a time. By the time it was over, he had outlanded Li by an 88-78 margin in significant strikes.

Neil Magny

The Elevation Fight Team mainstay passed the great Georges St. Pierre for most wins in the history of the welterweight division when he took care of Rodriguez with a brabo choke in the third round of their UFC Fight Night 214 co-main event on Nov. 5, 2022 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Magny drew the curtain 3:33 into Round 3. Rodriguez forced “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 16 semifinalist out of his comfort zone for much of the bout. He was particularly effective at the end of the first round and into the second, where he unleashed his jab and forced Magny backward with stabbing left hands. Rodriguez staggered the Brooklyn, New York, native with another left in Round 3 but allowed him to duck into a takedown. After a mat return, Magny snapped down on the choke when his counterpart tried to return to his feet. Rodriguez exhausted all options in a bid to extricate himself, to no avail. The loss snapped a four-fight winning streak for Californian and started his troubling downward trend in the 170-pound weight class.