Las Vegas, NV — UFC 279 welterweight Daniel Rodriguez is not overly concerned about opponent Kevin Holland’s propensity for trash talk.
The pairing will actually take place at a 180lb catchweight, given it was added to the card just a few weeks out. And while Holland has become known as “Big Mouth” over the course of his fighting career, Rodriguez (16-2) doesn’t expect the banter to get to him.
“I never really been the talking type, I’ve been more about the action. He does a lot of trash talking and sh*t, I don’t really think it’s going to effect me much,” Rodriguez told media outlets including Cageside Press during the UFC 279 media day. “I grew up around a bunch of trash talkers. I’m from Los Angeles, I went to school in the L.A. Unified School District, I went to Juvenile Hall and the L.A. County Jail. I’m used to to trash talk. If you ain’t trash talking back, you’re getting roasted bro, for real.”
Just like the trash talk, Rodriguez isn’t worried about Holland’s grappling, even if his opponent has been working to shore that area of his game up.
“I’m not a black belt in jiu-jitsu, but I do have submissions under my belt in my career. It’s one of those situations where, I can finish the fight where ever it goes,” Rodriguez stated. “It’s just one of those things. I’m not really worried about his grappling, I have pretty fair takedown defense for that for the most part. I just don’t see him trying to grapple much, but I’ll be very aware of takedowns and grappling.”
As for the catchweight, as it turns out, that’s something that Daniel Rodriguez himself requested.
“Two week’s notice, I was like ‘why don’t we just ask for a catchweight,’ so we don’t have to focus on cutting weight, we can just focus on grinding at being our best that fight. Fortunately he agreed,” Rodriguez recalled. “To be honest with you, I woke up almost at weight today. So I can eat, I feel great. I’m just glad we did a catchweight.”
“D-Rod” doesn’t think it will sway the fight to one side or the other in the end. “I think it’s an advantage for both of us. It’s kind of like one of those rare situations where two fighters go at a catchweight, don’t really got to cut weight. I don’t know about his status, but I’m fine.”
Watch the full UFC 279 media day appearance from Daniel Rodriguez above.
