“Robocop” has a “Killa Gorilla” in his sights, as Gregory Rodrigues gets his first UFC main event this February opposite Jared Cannonier.
A clash of middleweight heavy hitters, Cannonier vs. Rodrigues was announced by promotion officials as the UFC Vegas 102 main event on Monday. The card takes place February 15, 2025 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Cannonier (17-8) faced then-champ Israel Adesanya back in 2022 for the UFC’s 185lb title, dropping a decision. After winning his next two fights, Cannonier has lost two straight, against Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho. At 40, a title shot appears out of reach, with the UFC utilizing 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. Five of his seven wins in the UFC have come via stoppage; he rides a three-fight win streak into UFC Vegas 102, having beaten Denis Tiuliulin, Brad Tavares, and Christian Leeroy Duncan in that stretch.
Rodrigues is not currently ranked in the promotion’s top 15, while Jared Cannonier sits at #8. That gives the fighter known for bearing a slight resemblance to U.S. President Barack Obama (“Robobama”) a shot at cracking the middleweight rankings.
The following match-ups have been reported for UFC Vegas 102 thus far:
- Jared Cannonier vs. Gregory Rodrigues
- Jared Gordon vs. Kauê Fernandes
- Rodolfo Vieira vs. Jacob Malkoun
- Don’Tale 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
