Daniel Rodriguez secures a unanimous decision on 5 days notice

Daniel Rodriguez interested in fighting Kevin Holland, Robbie Lawler, or Neil Magny in UFC return

UFC welterweight contender Daniel Rodriguez says he is interested in fighting Kevin Holland, Robbie Lawler, or Neil Magny in his UFC return.

Rodriguez joined the UFC in 2020 and so far he has racked up an impressive 6-1 record inside the Octagon, with notable wins over Kevin Lee, Mike Perry, and Tim Means. Rodriguez was surging up the welterweight rankings and broke into the top-15 briefly, but unfortunately for “D-Rod,” the injury bug has hit him hard. After defeating Lee last summer for his biggest UFC victory to date, Rodriguez suffered a hand injury and it has kept him out of the Octagon since that win last August.

With Rodriguez’s hand healing up now, he should be able to step back into the Octagon in the next few months, and he already has a few names in mind for his return fight. Speaking to TMZ Sports, Rodriguez mentioned three specific potential opponents for his return to the Octagon, including Holland, Lawler, and Magny.

“Man, who do I want? Sh*t, I want the names they’ve been throwing at me. They threw Neil Magny, they threw Robbie Lawler at me. Kevin Holland is bumping his gums, that’s just what he does. Pretty much whoever wants the smoke,” Rodriguez said.

Speaking specifically about Holland, Rodriguez said that he believes he is a bad matchup for “Big Mouth,” although he will have to wait until his hand is fully healed before he can get the opportunity to shut him up.

“(Holland)’s already naturally a skinny dude, he’s just long and lanky. He doesn’t have my kind of boxing skills. I think it’d be a great fight. I think it’d be one of the potential ‘Fight of the Nights.’ He’s calling me out, so let’s do this sh*t already, man” Rodriguez said. “Hey dawg, stop trying to call me out while I’m injured. Just wait until my hand gets healed up and you know we can run it. You already know that. Shut up calling me out when I’m injured and sh*t when you had your chance. You were supposed to fight me in my second fight in the UFC, and you pulled out. ”

Who do you want to see Daniel Rodriguez fight in his UFC return?

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Adam Martin
MMA journalist, podcast host, and handicapper for MyMMANews.com, MMAoddsbreaker.com, and Bookies.com. MMAOB Daily Podcast host. Join me LIVE @ 5 pm EST every Monday for my live free podcast. Over 10 years of experience writing about MMA. I love this sport.