Nick Rodriguez

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, going from 170 to 220 pounds. Rodriguez attended college for one year, during which he placed fourth at the East Regionals and had a record of 23 wins and 4 losses.[8] He decided to pursue modeling career with Wilhelmina Models.[9]

Rodriguez returned to wrestling on October 5, 2019, when he faced that year's USA Wrestling World Team Member Pat Downey in a super-fight under freestyle rules at Who's Number One.[10] He lost the match by technical fall.[11]

In 2018, Rodriguez was persuaded 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[6] and went on to win the advanced 230 pounds and absolute brackets.[12][13] A few months later, he moved to Renzo Gracie Academy with coach John Danaher, who awarded him his blue belt later on.

After a failed attempt to qualify for the ADCCs, Rodriguez competed at the IBJJF World Championship in the blue belt division. He defeated all three of his opponents to win the championship.[14]

As a blue belt, Rodriguez qualified for the 2019 ADCC World Championships after winning the North American trials.[15] He defeated three notable jiu-jitsu black belts in Mahamed Aly, Orlando Sanchez, and Cyborg Abreu to make it to the finals,[16] where he lost to black belt IBJJF World Champion Kaynan Duarte on points, earning him 2nd place in the tournament.[17] He was promoted to purple belt on the ADCC podium by his coach Jay Regalbuto.[2] Rodriguez became known by the nickname "Black Belt Slayer".[18][19]

He competed against Duarte in a rematch at Fight 2 Win, which he lost.[20] He also competed at the BJJ Fanatics Grand Prix.[21]

After his bronze medal finish at the KASAI Pro 7,[22] Rodriguez was scheduled to face 2019 US World Team Member Pat Downey at Third Coast Grappling IV in a special ruleset match on March 14.[23] However, the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[24]

He then competed at Third Coast Grappling: Kumite IV on July 11. He was eliminated in the first round.[25]

In December, 2020, Rodriguez moved to Puerto Rico with the rest of his teammates to continue training under John Danaher.[26]

Rodriguez competed against Yuri Simões in the co-main event of Who's Number One on March 26, 2021.[27] Rodriguez won the match by decision.[28] He was then invited to compete in an absolute grand prix at Third Coast Grappling 6 on April 3, 2021.[29] Rodriguez defeated Pedro Marinho by decision in the opening round before losing a decision to Victor Hugo in the semi-final.[30]

In July, news broke that the Danaher Death Squad were splitting up.[31] Rodriguez elected to continue training with Craig Jones, Ethan Crelinsten, and Nicky Ryan.[32] The four grapplers opened up a new gym in Austin, Texas under the name B-Team Jiu-Jitsu in August, 2021.[33] Shortly afterward, Rodriguez was invited to compete at the 2022 ADCC World Championship.[34]

On December 30, 2021, Rodriguez competed against UFC veteran Steve Mowry at Fury Pro Grappling 3 and submitted him with a rear-naked choke at 5:30.[35]

Rodriguez faced Elder Cruz at Who's Number One: Jones v Marinho on January 21, 2022, and lost the match by split decision.[36] Shortly after this, Rodriguez was promoted to brown belt in BJJ.[37] Rodriguez competed in the over 99kg division of ADCC 2022, defeating Damon Ramos on points and submitting John Hansen with a rear-naked choke on the first day. On the second day he defeated Felipe Pena on points in the semi-final, but was submitted by Gordon Ryan in the final and came away with a silver medal.[38]

He was then invited to compete at EBI 20: The Absolutes on October 23, 2021.[39] Rodriguez won the tournament by defeating Ezeqiual Zurita, Luke Griffith, Austin Baker, and Kyle Boehm in one night.[40] On December 15, 2021, Rodriguez was scheduled to compete in another absolute tournament at UFC Fight Pass Invitational 3.[41] However, Vinny Magalhães withdrew from the main event match against Gordon Ryan and Rodriguez agreed to step in to replace him instead.[42] Neither man could finish the fight in regulation time and the match went to EBI overtime, where Gordon Ryan won by fastest escape time.[43] Ryan would accuse Rodriguez of 'greasing' during their match. Rodriguez denied that accusation on an episode Mark Bell's Power Project Podcast in February, 2023.[44]

Rodriguez stepped in on two day's notice to replace Gordon Ryan against Felipe Pena in the main event of Who's Number One on February 25, 2023.[45] He lost the match by unanimous decision.[46] Rodriguez was then invited to compete in an openweight tournament at UFC Fight Pass Invitational 4 on June 29, 2023.[47] He defeated Roberto Jimenez, Vagner Rocha, and Dan Manasoiu to win the tournament.[48]

Rodriguez then competed at Quintet 4 on September 10, 2023 as part of The B-Team Bulls.[49] Rodriguez drew both of his matches but his team won the tournament.[50] Rodriguez was scheduled to compete against 3 competitors: Jake Lowry, Cody Gamble, and Zack Humbertson, in a series of matches at Sprawl in the Burgh 2 on October 20, 2023.[51]