Las Vegas — Gregory “Robocop” Rodrigues got his revenge at UFC 326, knocking out Brunno Ferreira in a rematch of their 2023 encounter.
Ferreira had done the same to “Robocop” the first time around, but the finish was even more spectacular this past Saturday. Now, Rodrigues (19-6) is setting his fights on the top 5 of the middleweight division, and one Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez.
“I’m ready for everything, man. I sent my message. I sent my message to the division,” Rodrigues said following the fight at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. “I’m happy with how my career goes. For sure, something big is gonna come. I want to fight probably in the top 5, I want one of the top 5s. Maybe Anthony Hernandez, that was a good name, good match-up.”
Rodriguez plans on sitting down with his manager and working out his next steps, but he does expect to fight Ferreira once more. “I told him right after the fight, I said ‘man, for sure I will see you at the top again. And probably we’re going to face each other one more time.'”
Rodrigues showed considerable restraint after knocking out Ferreira, leaving it at a single punch and not dropping any follow-up blows.
“Oh man, yeah, but the ref did amazing work. Because he was right there,” Rodrigues told Cageside Press. “I thought to do one more shot, but when I came and I saw him, I said ‘I don’t need it.’ One was enough, and the ref did an amazing job.”
That’s not always the case. Rodrigues himself has been criticized for landing more shots than necessary in the past; Ferreira felt the same criticism in their first fight. Keep in mind, fighters are trained to continue until the ref intervenes.
“That happened. That happens with anybody. People complain for everything. I don’t care about it,” Rodrigues finished.
Watch the full UFC 326 post-fight press conference with Gregory Rodrigues above.
