Just two weeks ago, Gregory Rodrigues was celebrating his win over Josh Fremd at LFA 108, which saw him win the promotion’s 185lb tournament and capture championship gold. His reign would last all of twenty-four hours, brought to a quick halt by a call from the UFC.
Saturday night, “Robocop” made the walk to the octagon for the first time, as a short-notice replacement against Dusko Todorovic.
Right away Todorovic initiated the clinch against the cage. Rodrigues hit a beautiful judo throw to cause the separation back on the feet. Todorovic tried again to close the distance but Rodrigues used a whizzer and got back on the outside. Rodrigues was landing good long punches from the outside. Todorovic was moving his head trying to roll with the shots but he was still getting hit.
Rodrigues went right at it to start round two. Going to the body with his left hand and to the head with his right. Rodrigues more and more kept finding home with that right hand. To switch things up Rodrigues landed a perfectly timed power double leg takedown. Todorovic eventually got back to his feet and pressed Rodrigues against the cage. He went for a takedown but no dice and Rodrigues circled out. A feeling-out process closed out the second round.
Todorovic started round three with a flying knee that seemed to land. Rodrigues attempted to get a takedown but Todorovic defended well. The rest of the fight played out at distance. Rodrigues landed that right hand just about every time he there it. Todorovic was landing the bigger shots while Rodrigues was throwing and landing more, but the newcomer never gave up the lead.
Official Result: Gregory Rodrigues def. Dusko Todorovic by unanimous decision. (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
