Carlos (Left) fighting Daniel in the Main Event at ACC 17. Photo Courtesy of Edwin Arroyo.
ACC 17: Daniel Rodriguez Submits Carlos Rodriguez at 2:59
On Saturday night, in front of 1,300 plus fans, Daniel “Flaco” Rodriguez battled Carlos “Flaco” Rodriguez in the main event of Aggressive Combat Championships 17. These two warriors pulled the crowd out of their seats for their entire bantamweight title fight. Rodriguez vs. Rodriguez headlined a 13-bout fight card, which was hosted at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, New York.
In a fight that would capture Fight of the Night honors, Daniel Rodriguez, of Jungle Gym and Carlos Rodriguez, of Musuko MMA, entered the cage after having already battled once inside the cage. Their previous meeting was action packed as well up until Daniel sunk in a Rear Naked-Choke back in December of 2016.
This epic battle which took place Saturday night at ACC 17 was a professional level fight fought in the amateur ranks. Their war at bantamweight contended with any fight, on any promotion that occurred Saturday night.
Carlos Rodriguez, No. 47-ranked amateur in the state of New York and Daniel Rodriguez, No. 10-ranked 135-pounder in New York, according to Tapology.com, fought an exciting eight minutes and fifty-nine seconds. New York amateur fights are three three-minute rounds, including title fights.
Carlos stuck to his strategy throughout the entire fight. In the first round, he did an excellent job of sliding in-and-out with strikes while avoiding major counter punches. Daniel is the larger, more physical fighter, but Carlos managed to avoid a great deal of punishment in the fight. Carlos mixed it up with kicks and punches as he circled Daniel. Carlos exited round one with a 10-9 score.
Round two started off much of the same as round one, as Carlos used high-level head movement to avoid strikes by Daniel. Landing numerous outside leg strikes, Carlos fought off Daniel’s attempt to clinch against the cage. The Jungle Gym fighter finally found success with a single leg takedown against the cage with about a minute remaining in round two. After transitioning into full mount, Daniel found himself being reversed by Carlos with thirty-seconds left in the round. Daniel showed showing BJJ off his back with tieing up Carlos’ hands and attempting an armbar as time expired.
Entering round three, most judges had Carlos leading on the scorecards 20-18. Daniel pushed the pace looking to find some early success. Carlos used strong footwork to avoid most of what Daniel was throwing, then Carlos connected with a spinning back fist as Daniel stepped forward, dropping him with a flash knockout. Daniel stumbled up to his feet regaining his composure as Carlos pounced on his foe.
Carlos poured on the fury in a blitzkrieg alongside the cage fence. Though Carlos made the amateur mistake of not being patient and stepping back to continue striking, he attempted the takedown in which he could not find success with against the larger opponent. Daniel regained his senses against the cage while in the clinch, while taking numerous knees and punches.
At about 2:15 into the third round, Carlos successfully scored a takedown against Daniel, placing his him in full guard. Daniel used his long legs to position himself off the cage to attempt an armbar submission. At 2:59 into the third round, Daniel Rodriguez forced Carlos Rodriguez to tap out. If Carlos hadn’t tapped, he would have left with the ACC bantamweight title.
This fight was clearly the Fight of the Night with the action and high-skill level these two warriors displayed inside the cage. Carlos tapped after it appeared his arm might have dislocated or broken, While it was rumored that Daniel Rodriguez’ jaw broke after the spinning back fist Carlos landed.
Daniel Rodriguez (6-1) defeated Carlos Rodriguez (2-4) via Submission (Armbar) in round 3, at 2:59.
After earning this incredible victory, Daniel Rodriguez improved to 7-1 in his amateur career and captured the vacant Aggressive Combat Championship bantamweight (135lbs.) title. Since earning this win, don’t be surprised if Daniel Rodriguez makes the leap to the professional level. Eight bouts on the amateur level is a great number of fights and preparation for an amateur before turning professional.
In addition to Daniel winning the bantamweight title, his fellow Jungle Gym teammates brought home a Flyweight title (Edwin Solis) and a Middleweight title (Vic Landetta).
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ACC 18 is scheduled for April 7, 2017, returning to the Westchester County Center in White Plains, New York.
Photo Credit: Ed’Winz FLAVA 4 YOUR EARS / FEVER RECORDS
