Nick Rodriguez
Nick Rodriguez is an American submission grappler who competes in no-gi matches. He is the 2019 ADCC World Championship runner-up and the 2018 World Champion as a blue belt.
| Nick Rodriguez | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | Nicholas Pete Rodriguez Clayton, New Jersey, United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other names | The Black Belt Slayer | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Residence | New York, New York | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | American | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 220 lb (100 kg; 15 st 10 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | Danaher Death Squad Renzo Gracie Academy | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank | Purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under John Danaher | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wrestling | NCAA Division III Wrestling | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Wrestling career
Rodriguez was born and raised in Clayton, New Jersey and attended Clayton High School.[1] He started wrestling when he was 12 years old in sixth grade[2] and qualified for the NJSIAA championships as a senior but did not place.[3] After high school, Rodriguez attended Ferrum College, that has an NCAA Division III wrestling program. In between his last match as a high school wrestler and his first match as a collegiate wrestler, he gained 50 pounds, bulking up from 170 to 220 pounds. Rodriguez only attended college for one year, in which he placed fourth at the East Regionals (not qualifying for the NCAA championships) and posted a record of 23 wins and 4 losses.[4] He then pursued a modeling career until 2018.[2]
Rodriguez made his return to wrestling on October 5 of 2019 when he faced that year's US World Team Member Pat Downey in a super-fight under freestyle rules at Who's Number One.[5] He lost the match by technical fall (no points to 12).[6]
Grappling career
In 2018, he was convinced by a friend to attend his first Jiu-jitsu class to stay fit. After two weeks of training, he attended his first submission wrestling competition[2] and went on to win the advanced 230 pounds and absolute brackets.[7][8] A few months later, he moved to Renzo Gracie Academy with coach John Danaher, who awarded him his blue belt later on.
2018
After a failed attempt to qualify for the ADCCs, Rodriguez competed at the IBJJF World Championship in the blue belt division. He submitted all of his three opponents to claim the championship.[9]
2019
As just a blue belt, Rodriguez qualified for the 2019 ADCC World Championships after winning the North American trials.[10] He unbelievably defeated three elite level black belts in Mahamed Aly, Orlando Sanchez and Cyborg Abreu to make it to the finals,[11] where he was downed by IBJJF Black Belt World Champion Kaynan Duarte on points, making him the runner-up of the tournament.[12]
He then competed against Duarte in a rematch in which he lost.[13] He also competed at the BJJ Fanatics Grand Prix.[14]
2020
After his bronze medal finish at the KASAI Pro 7,[15] Rodriguez was scheduled to face 19' US World Team Member Pat Downey at Third Coast Grappling IV in a special-ruleset match on March 14.[16] However, the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[17]
He then competed at Third Coast Grappling: Kumite IV on July 11. He was eliminated in the first round.[18]
Championships and accomplishments
- 2020
KASAI Pro 7 (+99 kg)
- 2019
ADCC 2019 World Championship (+99 kg)- Who's Number 1 (Freestyle wrestling Superfight)
ADCC North American Trials (+99 kg)- High Rollerz Open: Pittsburgh (Blue Belt Absolute)
- 2018
- IBJJF Nogi World Championships (Blue Belt +97.5 kg)
- ADCC North American Trials (+99 kg)
- Grappling Industries: Wildwook (Advanced Absolute)
- Grappling Industries: Wildwook (Advanced 230 lbs)
Grappling record
| 41 Matches, 33 Wins (17 Submissions), 6 Losses (1 Submission), 2 Draws | ||||||||
| Result | Rec. | Opponent | Method | Event | Division | Type | Year | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 34-6-2 |  Roberto Jimenez | Referee Decision | 2020 Third Coast Grappling: Kumite IV | +99 kg | Nogi | July 11, 2020 |  Houston, TX |
| 2020 KASAI Pro 7 at +99 kg | ||||||||
| Win | 34-5-2 | Kyle Boehm | Points (5-0) | 2020 KASAI Pro 7 | +99 kg | Nogi | February 1, 2020 | Dallas, TX |
| Win | 33-5-2 |  Bruno Bastos | Submission (heel hook) | |||||
| Draw | 32-5-2 | Cyborg Abreu | Draw | |||||
| Draw | 32-5-1 | Vinny Magalhães | Draw | |||||
| Loss | 32-5 | Victor Hugo | Referee Decision | Fight 2 Win 135 | +99 kg | Nogi | January 18, 2020 | California, CA |
| Win | 32-4 | Luke Rockhold | Referee Decision | Polaris 12 | 104.3 kg | Nogi | November 30, 2019 | Newport, WA |
| 2019 BJJ Fanatics Grand Prix at +99 kg | ||||||||
| Loss | 31-4 | Lucas Barbosa | Overtime (riding time) | 2019 BJJ Fanatics Submission Only Grand Prix | +99 kg | Nogi | November 15, 2019 | Beverly, MA |
| Win | 31-3 | Victor Silverio | Overtime (rear-naked choke) | |||||
| Loss | 30-3 | Kaynan Duarte | Submission (heel hook) | Fight 2 Win 128 | +99 kg | Nogi | October 19, 2019 | Philadelphia, PA |
| 2019 ADCC World Championship at +99 kg | ||||||||
| Loss | 30-2 | Kaynan Duarte | Points (0-3) | 2019 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships | +99 kg | Nogi | September 29, 2019 | Anaheim, CA |
| Win | 30-1 | Cyborg Abreu | Referee Decision | |||||
| Win | 29-1 | Orlando Sanchez | Referee Decision | |||||
| Win | 28-1 | Mahamed Aly | Referee Decision | |||||
| Win | 27-1 | Jason Reyes | Points (15-0) | 2019 JitzKing Tampa | +99 kg | Nogi | July 6, 2019 | Tampa, FL |
| Win | 26-1 | Quentin Rosenzweig | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Sub Stars: Nicky Rod Challenge | Absolute | Nogi | June 19, 2019 | Miami, FL |
| Win | 25-1 | Walker Madden | Referee Decision | Fight 2 Win 108 | 240 lbs | Nogi | April 12, 2019 | Philadelphia, PA |
| Win | 24-1 | Tyler King | Referee Decision | Fight 2 Win 107 | 240 lbs | Nogi | April 5, 2019 | Tyngsborough, MA |
| 2019 High Rollerz Open: Pittsburgh at Absolute | ||||||||
| Win | 23-1 | Caleb Crump | Submission | High Rollerz Open: Pittsburgh | Absolute | Nogi (blue) | March 30, 2019 | Cheswick, PA |
| Win | 22-1 | Jeric Fry | Submission | |||||
| Win | 21-1 | Brandon Moran | Disqualification | |||||
| Win | 20-1 | Joshua Lorton | Submission | |||||
| 2019 ADCC North American Trials at +99 kg | ||||||||
| Win | 19-1 | John Hansen | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 2019 ADCC North American Trials | +99 kg | Nogi | February 9, 2019 | Burbank, CA |
| Win | 18-1 | Casey Hellenberg | Points (6-0) | |||||
| Win | 17-1 | James Friedrich | Submission | |||||
| Win | 16-1 | Fernando Iraheta | Submission (kimura) | |||||
| Win | 15-1 | Michael Egley | Points (2-0) | |||||
| 2018 IBJJF World Nogi Championships at +99 kg | ||||||||
| Win | 14-1 | Jureall Simmons | Submission (kimura) | 2018 World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship | +97 kg | Nogi (blue) | December 14, 2018 | Anaheim, CA |
| Win | 13-1 | Erick Hastings | Submission (armbar) | |||||
| Win | 12-1 | William Matheus | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | |||||
| 2018 ADCC North American Trials at +99 kg | ||||||||
| Win | 11-1 | Andrew Tevay | Points (2-0) | 2018 ADCC North American Trials | +99 kg | Nogi | November 3, 2018 | Bayville, NJ |
| Loss | 10-1 | Hudson Taylor | Points (0-5) | |||||
| Win | 10-0 | Billy Brown | Submission (rear-naked choke) | |||||
| Win | 9-0 | Dylan Rankin | Submission (kimura) | |||||
| Win | 8-0 | Dylan Rankin | Submission (kimura) | 2018 RISE Submission Invitational 5 | 215 lbs | Nogi | September 29, 2018 | Long Island, NY |
| 2018 Grappling Industries: Wildwook at +99 kg & Absolute | ||||||||
| Win | 7-0 | Joe Baik | Points (12-0) | Grappling Industries: Wildwood | Absolute | Nogi | June 2, 2018 | Wildwood, NJ |
| Win | 6-0 | Steven Tongur | Points (9-0) | |||||
| Win | 5-0 |  Gal Telem Goudsmit | Submission | |||||
| Win | 4-0 | Nick Van Wattingen | Submission | +99 kg | ||||
| Win | 3-0 | Peter Mattoccia | Points (16-0) | |||||
| Win | 2-0 | Chris Baldino | Submission | |||||
| Win | 1-0 | Eric Silverman | Points (2-0) | |||||
References
- NJ.com, Bill Evans | NJ Advance Media for (2013-01-03). "Clayton High School's Nick Rodriguez takes positive out of close loss". nj. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- Presley, Richard (2019-10-31). "Nick Rodriguez - Jiu-Jitsu's new Superstar". Attack The Back. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- "2014 NJSIAA State Championships". www.trackwrestling.com. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- "Rodriguez Named First Team All-State". Ferrum College. 2015-04-28. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- "ADCC Runner-up Nick Rodriguez vs World Teamer Pat Downey At Who's #1!". www.flograppling.com. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- Peters, Matt (2019-10-06). "ADCC Silver Medalist Nick Rodriguez Loses via Technical Fall in Wrestling Return". Grappling Insider. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- "NO GI ADULT / MALE / ADVANCED / ADULT / -230 LBS". Smoothcomp. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- "ABSOLUTE NO GI / MALE / ADULT". Smoothcomp. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- "International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation -". www.ibjjfdb.com. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- "BJJ and Grappling Phenom Nick Rodriguez Is Just Getting Started". BJJ Fanatics. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- Lindsey, Alex (2019-09-29). "ADCC 2019 Results: Nicky Rod Outlasts Cyborg". Grappling Insider. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- Billington, Roy (2019-09-30). "ADCC 2019 Results: Gordon Ryan wins double gold". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- "Fight 2 Win 128 Results | BJJ Heroes". Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- Lindsey, Alex (2019-11-16). "BJJ Fanatics Grand Prix Results". Grappling Insider. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- "Kasai Pro 7 Results | BJJ Heroes". Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- Lindsey, Alex (2019-12-07). "Nick Rodriguez v Pat Downey 2 Set For Third Coast Grappling 4". Grappling Insider. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- admin (2020-03-05). "Breaking: Third Coast Grappling IV Main Event is Cancelled". Grappling Insider. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- "See the results for the 2020 Third Coast Grappling: KUMITE IV grappling event on FloGrappling.com". www.flograppling.com. Retrieved 2020-07-12.