Promotion officials announced on Monday that Daniel “D-Rod” Rodriguez (20-5) would return at the August 1, 2026 Fight Night event, where he’ll headline opposite Serbia’s own Uros Medic (13-3) in a welterweight fight.

For Rodriguez, it’s the first fight back following a lengthy ordeal that saw him stuck inside a Mexican prison due to marijuana trafficking charges.

That ordeal saw Rodriguez imprisoned for the better part of a year, after being found with weed in his vehicle while crossing into Mexico from the U.S. Now, he gets to pick up where he left off, on a streak that saw him beat three straight.

Most recently, Rodriguez won a unanimous decision over Kevin Holland last July. Despite his time out of action, Daniel Rodriguez remains ranked #15 in the UFC’s 170lb weight class.

During D-Rod’s time away, Uros Medic has managed to ascend to #13 in the welterweight division, and rides a three-fight win streak of his own. All three of those wins came subsequent to Rodriguez’s last action; most recently, Medic knocked out Geoff Neal in February, earning a Performance of the Night bonus in the process.

UFC Belgrade takes place at the Belgrade Arena in Belgrade, Serbia on August 1, 2026 with the following match-ups reported for the card:

• Uroš Medić vs. Daniel Rodriguez
• Ante Delija vs. Johnny Walker
• Marcin Tybura vs. Aleksandar Rakić
• Vlasto Čepo vs. Gilbert Urbina
• Jovan Leka vs. Max Gimenis
• Duško Todorović vs. Robert Valentin

The post D-Rod Returns, Gets Uros Medic in UFC Belgrade Headliner appeared first on Cageside Press.

Rumors swirled throughout the latter part of 2025 that Rodriguez, who had dropped off the public radar, was stuck in jail in Mexico. Turns out, the rumors in true in this case. Nearly nine months ago, Rodriguez was caught crossing the border with an ounce of weed. That landed him in a Mexican prison, his case stuck in the country’s laughably slow judicial system.

After announcing his return days ago, Rodriguez appeared on The Ariel Helwani Show on Monday to detail the ordeal he’d been through.

With what he termed “a wad of cash” on hand, Rodriguez tried to bribe his way out of a bad situation, but got nowhere. “I tried to offer some money to get me out right there on the spot, but they weren’t going for it man.”

“It was 27 grams, I had a fresh ounce of weed on me,” the six-year veteran of the UFC revealed. Rodriguez admitted to pulling over before crossing the border last summer and thinkin about throwing the weed away, but convinced himself that nothing would happen. “Sure enough, I should have just stuck with my gut feeling.”

Nor was he the only one in a jam. Heading to Mexico to have a good time, Rodriguez had a female companion with him. “I had someone with me and unfortunately, that person had to do the time with me. So I wasn’t alone in there, but I feel really bad about that.”

When Rodriguez finally got his release, his companion did as well. “She unfortunately- we were able to get out together. At the same time.”

Rodriguez explained that there were ups and downs in the legal process, and several points where he thought he’d be released, but wasn’t. “I got an amazing legal team, and we were able to work some things out and get me out, but there’s a whole much of requirements and stuff behind it that I’ve got to stick to,” he added.

As to what those requirements are, Rodriguez didn’t specify, instead saying that “if you know my background, you know that this is not my first time going to jail. This is just a part of my journey through the whole MMA thing. MMA has really helped me, changed things for me. We’re able to start programs and try to help people, try to get the youth and start programs for them so they can experience what I experienced, which is the discipline and looking forward to something better in life than just a lot of troubled stuff like a lot of gangs. Mexico is way much worse.”

Yair Rodriguez, Brian Ortega, and even the UFC tried to get involved on D-Rod’s behalf. “There’s only so much they could do. The Mexican government, they weren’t having it man.”

Luckily, Rodriguez was able to pull some strings to get exercise equipment brought it, allowing him to train, in limited amounts, while imprisoned. As he put it, he had a few people “in very, very, very high places, especially in there” who looked out for him. “I was probably in the best living situation I could be in, in there, but it was still horrible.”

“Eight, minus nine months for a bag of weed is insane. I never thought twice,” Rodriguez later added.

Daniel Rodriguez sits on a three-fight win streak and is coming off a July victory over Kevin Holland. He’s now back in the gym working on getting back in fight shape. “It’s just conditioning right now,” Rodriguez stated on Monday, saying he plans to spend “as much time as possible” at the UFC PI to get healthy and bounce back.

As for a comeback opponent, it won’t be Kevin Holland, though Holland did slide into his DMs. “I already beat him,” noted Rodriguez, saying he wanted to go as high as possible, and was looking at a match-up with Leon Edwards.

The post Daniel Rodriguez Opens Up About Months Spent in Mexican Prison appeared first on Cageside Press.

Max Holloway

As Max said right after his hand was raised, this moment is not about him. So I won’t go too deep about what this win meant for his career, I’ll get right to the matchmaking.

In the UFC 317 edition of What’s Next, I had Ilia Topuria fighting Paddy Pimblett as I felt the UFC was still in need of big crossover fights. The only non-title fight I could see scratch Justin Gaethje’s fighting itch enough not to retire is a re-booking of the Dan Hooker matchup. That would leave Max with either Arman Tsarukyan or Charles Oliveira as potential dance partners. With Max just going 25 minutes with the hard-hitting Poirier, I doubt the timeline for his return matches Tsarukyan’s, who’s been on the shelf for a while now. That means I see “Blessed” returning in the first quarter of 2026 in a rematch against the former champion Oliveira.

Holloway’s next fight: Charles Oliveira

Paulo Costa

Paulo Costa didn’t have a single victory over a current UFC fighter on his record. He was in desperate need of a solid win to restore some of the name value he previously held. The Brazilian not only defeated a ranked contender under 35 who was 6-1 in his last 7 fights, he out-struck Kopylov more than two-to-one. An impressive win over a relevant contender in this division was precisely what the doctor ordered. Now, “The Eraser” can once again look up the rankings for his next opponent. I’ve always thought a fight between Costa and Jared Cannonier would be a lot of fun. It just so worked out that Cannonier is fighting Michael “Venom” Page on the very next Pay-Per-View.

Costa’s next fight: Cannonier/Page winner

Daniel Rodriguez

The 38-year-old D-Rod came into UFC 318 as a massive betting underdog against a Kevin Holland that looked rejuvenated at welterweight. After a massive second round where he knocked down “Trailblazer” twice, he then had to weather the storm in round three where he was hurt multiple times. After a three-fight skid, Rodriguez is now on a three-fight win streak and will enter the rankings once again. While I could see the UFC booking the veteran Rodriguez against the youngster Gabriel Bonfim who also just entered the rankings last week, I’d rather put D-Rod in a battle of the southpaws against the loser of the upcoming Geoff Neal and Carlos Prates bout at UFC 319.

Rodriguez’s next fight: Neal/Prates loser

Patricio Pitbull

It was years in the making, but we finally got to see Patricio Pitbull get his hand raised in the UFC. He defeated the perfect featherweight litmus test in Dan Ige at UFC 318. While his recent loss to Yair Rodriguez probably told us a lot more about Pitbull’s true ability to contend at this stage of his career, he should still be provided the opportunity to face known names in this division. Brian Ortega and Aljamain Sterling will be facing off in Shanghai next month. While the winner will most likely be looking upwards in the rankings, there’s nothing stopping the UFC from booking Pitbull against the loser.

Pitbull’s next fight: Ortega/Sterling loser

Michael Johnson

The enigma that is Michael Johnson is the gift that keeps on giving. A 39-year-old man with wins over Tony Ferguson and Dustin Poirier, who not too long ago was on a bad-looking four-fight skid, just cleanly defeated a highly touted 26-year-old as a nearly 6-to-1 underdog? Yes, that sounds exactly like something Michael Johnson would do.

While I’ve been wishing for Johnson to fight King Green for years, it seems the timing never aligns for those two to fight. Green, who is fighting Diego Ferreira next month, would still be my first choice if he wins. An Edson Barboza rematch could also be fun, now that the Brazilian is coming back up to lightweight. Ultimately, I went with another young prospect who will look to bounce back after a loss. Zellhuber was meant to get back in the win column against a recognizable name, but Johnson spoiled those plans. Can Ignacio Bahamondes do what Zellhuber couldn’t and get past the savvy veteran?

Johnson’s next fight: Ignacio Bahamondes

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Still, for Rodriguez (20-5), now a veteran of the welterweight division, the unanimous decision victory over one of the sport’s more notable names has him set for bigger things moving forward. Maybe even a ranking.

Of course, it did not come easy. Rodriguez had Holland on the ropes early, knocked down, but he couldn’t quite find the finish. “I thought I had him. Knocked him down, landed two hard shots. I realized like 10 seconds after that, you know what, I don’t want to waste all my energy,” Rodriguez recalled following the bout, speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press. “Let him get back up, I felt like I had him hurt, and just kept going for it.”

Later, Holland appeared to hurt Rodriguez. “D-Rod” himself wasn’t so sure after the bout, only because he had no recollection of the blow. “I don’t even remember that happening, bro.”

That usually means yes, you were hurt. But the outcome is what matters, and in one of the best fights of Daniel Rodriguez’s career, he got the right result. “This fight means everything to me. Hopefully it comes with a spot in the rankings, riding a three-fight win streak. Nothing but big names, and I’m a big name myself. That’s how I feel right now.”

Rodriguez will later explain how early life experiences, and bouncing back from them, help keep him motivated.

“Every time I step in the cage, or the octagon, I carry everything that I’ve been through in my life. I come from nothing, I come from a jail background, gang-related background, and I changed my life. I’m grateful to be here, I’m grateful for everything and all the opportunities that I have now.”

“My life could be way different, so every day I wake up and I’m able to do this, I give it my all,” he added.

Coming off what he admits is one of the biggest wins of his career, Daniel Rodriguez also called his current run “like a career revival to me.”

“I’m all in, I’ve always been all in, but you know, I’m here to stay.”

Watch the full UFC 318 post-fight press conference with Daniel Rodriguez above.

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Rodriguez had also captured two straight wins, against Santiago Ponzinibbio and Alex Morono.

Holland and Rodriguez got right to work on Saturday, with Holland eventually moving in for a takedown that D-Rod was able to fight off. Holland was still able to work in his jab and a left hook, followed by a right a bit later. About halfway through the opening round, and Holland seemed to be flowing, with Rodriguez looking for openings as he tried to counter.

Rodriguez would land a big shot, his best of the round, late in the frame, with Holland eating it and answering back.

Round two opened with Rodriguez firing a kick and then crashing inside. Holland chopped at “D-Rod” with a side kick, then was badly rocked with a left hand! Holland looked out, and it’s a small miracle the fight didn’t end there. Yet he recovered, and while Daniel Rodriguez briefly got on top, he thought better of it and forced Holland back to his feet. Holland shot wild for a takedown, didn’t have it, and was then rocked again! Rodriguez again got on top as Holland went to his back, giving Holland a chance to recover — though he looked well out of it.

Holland vainly tried for an arm-bar, but instead wound up back on his feet, where he didn’t want to be. Yet this time Holland was able to duck and slip a few punches, then landed a huge takedown. When they got back up, Rodriguez threatened with a guillotine, but was far from securing it. After a stunning turn of events and a near finish early in the round, they headed to the third.

In the third, the big question was how much had Kevin Holland recovered. And secondary to that, had Rodriguez drained too much of the tank? That question was answered less than two minutes in, when Holland dropped Rodriguez! “D-Rod” went down, Holland got on top, and opened up! They got back up, Holland looking for his patented D’arce choke, and when he didn’t have it, he tagged Rodriguez again! Rodriguez covered up, and Holland tagged him again, but the fence kept him on his feet! Holland landed a jump knee that was blocked, and Rodriguez secured a desperation takedown. Just another wild turn of events, with Rodriguez fending off a submission attempt and getting on top.

As rocked as he was, Rodriguez managed to get in mount with a minute left in the fight, a bout that was now a leading candidate for Fight of the Night. Yet Holland escaped, only to get caught in a Rodriguez guillotine. He didn’t have it, but that put Rodriguez back on top in mount. He finished the fight landing lefts and rights, in an absolute thriller. D-Rod took it on the scorecards, but cliché as it is, there were no losers in that fight.

Official Result:  Daniel Rodriguez def. Kevin Holland by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

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Holland (28-13) asked the press what the record was with one reporter stating that it was 6 in one year. Of course Holland wants to one up that record.

“So I got to do seven just to go ahead and top the record. We’re four down,” Holland told reporters including Cageside Press on Wednesday.

“I figure we get Neil Magny after this one since he’s one of those fellow guys that has five wins in a row in a year. Then we’ll go get the 5th win against somebody else. I can fight a lot. At 170 pounds I’m learning each time it’s just not that f*cking hard to ge to.”

Holland planned out the rest of his year, including hoping for a scrap at Noche UFC in September, in hopes of reaching that 7-win mark. Assuming he wins all of those fights it’s very possible he’d be up for a title shot.

In hilarious Holland fashion he didn’t even seem to care about a shot at gold. Just wants a certain name that keeps avoiding him.

“I think I’m gonna do all that and still be trying to fight Colby (Covington) next year,” he said.

Covington hasn’t fought since December of last year taking a loss to Joaquin Buckley. Going 2-4 in his last six fights isn’t a good look for him, but he’s been quiet about coming back to fighting outside of calling out Paddy Pimblett. Pimblett fights at 155 pounds.

“First he was like, when he thought he could fight Paddy and go down a weight class, he was 100% healthy. Soon as they said my name vaginal muscle tore,” he said.

“Takes about 8-12 weeks to heal so not an easy process.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Kevin Holland above. He takes on Daniel Rodriguez at UFC 318 on Saturday night.

The post Kevin Holland Wants 7 Fights In 2025, Still Calling Out Covington appeared first on Cageside Press.

“This is actually the third time that we’re scheduled to fight. It’s kind of like one of those things like the fans want it, I want it, he wants it, everyone’s excited for it,” Rodriguez told reporters including Cageside Press on Wednesday.

“Definitely one of those fights I feel like…I can’t end my career not knowing what would have happened. It’s a great matchup.”

Rodriguez (19-5) gets a very active Holland who will fight for the fourth time this year at UFC 318.

“Kevin’s always been active, really active, I’ll fight anybody. I don’t really watch tape. I just go and train and work my hardest. He’s got a few submissions, he got knockout power, but I just prepared my hardest for this fight,” he said.

“Something like 4 weeks (to prepare) maybe. Maybe less. I never get out of shape. I just fought two months ago. They asked me about the fight three-and-a-half weeks ago I was like yeah.”

A win over Holland would be a big statement for Rodriguez who could score his third consecutive win at UFC 318. Victory and all that comes with it is what ‘DRod‘ is hoping for.

“It’s huge. Definitely would be one of the biggest wins in my career. It’ll put me back in the rankings,” he said.

“It’s an amazing fight man. I’m going to go out there and try my hardest to win.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Daniel Rodriguez above. He takes on Kevin Holland at UFC 318 on Saturday night.

The post Daniel Rodriguez Has Plenty To Gain From Beating Holland appeared first on Cageside Press.

Cory Sandhagen

With Merab Dvalishvili rematching Sean O’Malley next month and having already beaten names like Petr Yan and Umar Nurmagomedov, the path to a title shot finally seemed clear for Cory Sandhagen. A statement win in the main event was probably going to be enough as he represents a fresh match up for both Dvalishvili and O’Malley. And a statement win is what the Sandman delivered. Yes, the finish may have looked anti-climactic, but Figueiredo’s knee injury came as a direct result of a grappling exchange that Sandhagen was purposefully engaging in. Additionally, Sandhagen was thoroughly dominating Figueiredo, out landing him 92 to 8 in total strikes and going two-for-two on takedowns.

Time will tell if this version of Sandhagen will be able to capture a title against the likes of Dvalishvili or O’Malley, but one thing is sure, he shouldn’t have to fight again before facing either one of them.

Sandhagen’s next fight: Dvalishvili/O’Malley 2 winner

Reinier de Ridder

Reinier de Ridder knew Bo Nickal’s lack of experience at the highest level of MMA could cost him in a matchup like this one. The 34-year-old RDR, who has been there and done that in this sport, got right in Nickal’s face from the get-go. He did most of his work in the clinch, where he kept bullying Nickal with knees to the body until he ultimately folded in round 2.

This is by far the highest profile of de Ridder’s three UFC wins. When a known name loses, he doesn’t always transfer his star power to his opponent, but this time it appears it did. After the fight, there was a lot of talk about Nickal’s poor showing, but there was also just as much praise for RDR as fans felt he was disrespected by the betting odds. After his win, de Ridder called out Sean Strickland, a sound callout given the lay of the land at middleweight. Given his age and the momentum he has already accrued in the 6 months since he’s joined the promotion, it’s not unreasonable to aim for a top5 matchup. There is a trio of former champions that would all make sense for RDR in Strickland, Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker. My personal favourite of these would be “The Last Stylebender”.

de Ridder’s next fight: Israel Adesanya

Daniel Rodriguez

After ending his three-fight skid in October against Alex Morono, D-Rod is now officially back on a winning streak after stopping Santiago Ponzinibbio in the third round at UFC Des Moines. The matchup with the Argentinian fighter was perfect given where both are at this stage of their careers. Now that he has put himself back in the mix, I could see the UFC try to use the juice left in Rodriguez to push a youngster like Bryan Battle, Gabriel Bonfim or Jacobe Smith. Personally, I would rather have him fight one more age-appropriate matchup before thinking of throwing him back in there with the young guns.

Gunnar Nelson appears to only show up sporadically for cards in the UK, but the UFC does go there fairly often. So next time Gunni shows up, why not do it against D-Rod?

Rodriguez’s next fight: Gunnar Nelson

Montel Jackson

Montel Jackson kept the trend of undefeated fighters having a rough time in 2025 going, earning 30-27s across the board against Daniel Marcos. Jackson had to earn his ranking the hard way, winning five straight to get the #15 spot. And he immediately had to defend it against an undefeated, unranked fighter in the Peruvian Marcos. Now winner of six in a row, I think Jackson deserves to fight up the rankings.

There is a fight between Marlon Vera and Mario Bautista going down in Newark a month from now (coincidentally, that was originally booked for Des Moines). The loser of that fight will be ranked at the edge of the top10, exactly the range Jackson should be looking at.

Jackson’s next fight: Vera/Bautista loser

Serhiy Sidey

After losing his promotional debut in Toronto, the Canadian Sidey has now won back-to-back contests. He followed his closely contested decision win against Garrett Armfield last November with a clearer win this time around against Cam Smotherman.

In UFC Vegas 105’s edition of What’s Next, I had the winner of this Sidey vs Smotherman bout penciled in to face Chang Ho Lee next. My mind hasn’t changed since then. It should be a fun fight.

Sidey’s next fight: Chang Ho Lee

Mason Jones

Mason Jones played spoiler to the returning hometown fan favourite Jeremy Stephens at UFC Des Moines, as he defeated him by unanimous decision. Stephens was returning to the UFC after stints in PFL, Gamebred Boxing and BKFC since leaving the UFC in 2021. However, let’s not forget Jones was also coming back to the promotion.

The Welsh fighter went 1-2 with 1 No Contest between 2021 and 2022, but this record is deceiving. His win was against David Onama, while his losses were to Mike Davis and Ludovit Klein. Tough assignments for someone who was 26 with only 10 professional fights to his name when he joined the party. After his release, Jones went 4-0 in Cage Warriors with three finishes to claw his way back to the UFC.

Now that he started his second stint on a positive note, let’s build him up a bit slower than the first time. I think someone like Charlie Campbell would be a proper opponent. Campbell is 29 with a 2-0 record in the promotion after coming through the Contender Series. Both are at similar stages of their careers where it would make sense for them to meet.

Jones’ next fight: Charlie Campbell

The post What’s Next: UFC Des Moines Winners appeared first on Cageside Press.

Ponzinibbio (30-8) has been in the UFC since 2013, but is yet to even sniff a title shot. Injuries and losses have hampered his title hopes but he remained steadfast at media day saying he still hopes to get his shot at gold one day. Building on a win over Carlston Harris in January with a win over Rodriguez would go a long way towards beginning that run.

Rodriguez (18-5) snapped a three-fight losing skid with a win over Alex Morono last October. Losses to Kelvin Gastelum, Ian Machado Garry and Neil Magny are nothing to sniff at, but a loss is still a loss.

Round 1 both men employed a feel-out process early on, but Rodriguez sped it up a bit forcing Ponzinibbio to match the energy. Both men bought into a ‘you go, I go’ type of pace in the first round. Throwing strikes trying to see what the reaction would be.

Ponzinibbio landed a heavy leg kick that he must have felt hurt Rodriguez because he rushed in to land a flurry. Rodriguez stayed measured relying on his boxing to reach Ponzinibbio from range.

Rodriguez landed a flush left hand shot that put Ponzinibbio on skates and he rushed the Argentinian with strikes. Ponzinibbio was able to survive the round and make it back to the stool, but he was still wobbly on his way there.

Round 2 the left hand was paying the bills for Rodriguez early on in the second. Ponzinibbio didn’t change much of his approach still looking to land a shot to hurt ‘DRod’. Rodriguez ate a big shot, and landed another shot that stung Ponzinibbio.

Ponzinibbio shot in for his second takedown attempt, but it seemed pretty weak. He continued to try takedowns, but just wasn’t having much luck getting his hands connected behind Rodriguez.

Rodriguez seemed almost offended that Ponzinibbio kept trying takedowns, but he looked rather tired at the end of the second. Ponzinibbio stayed on pace landing kicks and short shots trying to stay active. Ponzinibbio finally got a takedown with about 15 seconds left in the round, but wasn’t able to land much damage before time ran out.

Round 3 Rodriguez looked pretty tired at this point and Ponzinibbio saw it. He continued his pace looking for an opportunity to strike, but Rodriguez landed a nuclear left hand that put the Argentinian down and ended his night.

Official Result: Daniel Rodriguez def. Santiago Ponzinibbio via R3 TKO, 1:12

The post Daniel Rodriguez Lands Massive Left Hand, Puts Ponzinibbio Out appeared first on Cageside Press.

“100% you know. Styles make the good fights and this fight have everything to be the fight of the night,” Ponzinibbio told reporters including Cageside Press on Wednesday.

“This is going to be fireworks. He’s a tough kid, coming forward with a lot of pressure, volume. That’s going to be fun fight. I’m ready to put the daggers doing the work and ready to finish.”

Ponzinibbio (30-8) and Rodriguez had originally be scheduled to fight at Noche UFC in 2023. Rodriguez was pulled from the fight following a positive PED test for Ostarine. Ponzinibbio didn’t harp on the failed test, but did mention it.

“Supposed to fight for Noche UFC 2023. He was doping. The fight (did) not happen,” he said.

“I fought in January 11, first card of the year, I won. I asked him to be active on the cage and they offered me Rodriguez for May. I said of course let’s do it.”

At 38-years-old and closer to the end than the start of his MMA career the Argentinian star still wants to continue climbing in the division.

“I still believe I’m one of the best of the division. I can beat the champion. I have the power to finish everyone in this division,” said Ponzinibbio.

“But today I’m taking my career step-by-step. My goal now is (win) this Saturday and after that be fighting soon. Be active. Take my opportunity for the belt one day.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Santiago Ponzinibbio above. He takes on Daniel Rodriguez at UFC Des Moines on Saturday night.

The post Santiago Ponzinibbio Still Wants A Shot At Gold, Sees FOTN appeared first on Cageside Press.