LAS VEGAS – Daniel Rodriguez knows the magnitude of his win over Kevin Lee and fully intends on capitalizing on it.
After ending up on his back in Round 1, Rodriguez (16-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) rallied to outpoint Lee at UFC on ESPN 30 on Saturday and hopes his highest profile win to date leads to a spot in the rankings.
“I feel like this fight really did a lot for me as far as ranking goes, and I want to see where I fall into the rankings system,” Rodriguez said during the post-fight news conference. “We’ll see where it goes from there.
“Or it gives me a shot at a ranked opponent. I feel like I’m super underrated, and today I just demonstrated I’m a threat to the division. I feel like I sent that message today, and I feel like I’m on the radar with a lot of these dudes.”
Since joining the UFC roster in February 2020, Rodriguez has been as game as they come, taking multiple fights on short notice, including the one against Lee. He’s already notched three wins in 2021 and wants to keep riding his momentum by competing at least one more time this year.
“That definitely was the biggest win of my career,” Rodriguez said. “Kevin Lee was a big name, a ranked lightweight moving up to welterweight. I was the underdog in this fight, which is something I’m used to and I’m comfortable with. I feel like the whole underdog thing is really just numbers and rankings and stuff like that.
“I feel like when I step in there come fight night, it’s really which dog wants it the most – and I want it bad. I feel like I’m just getting started, and beating Kevin Lee just opened the door for unlimited possibilities and I’m just going to take a week or two to sit back and see which doors are opened.”
Daniel Rodriguez: ‘Beating Kevin Lee just opened the door for unlimited possibilities’
