LAS VEGAS – Imanol Rodriguez is now a UFC fighter, and he has his sights set on avenging the lone loss of his career.
Rodriguez (6-0) punched his ticket to the UFC by knocking out Roque Conceicao (10-3) in the first round at Dana White’s Contender Series 85 on Tuesday. Rodriguez was eliminated in the Season 33 “Ultimate Fighter” semifinals by Joseph Morales, and he welcomes that rematch.
“I’m ready for whomever, and just like Diego Lopes says, it’s whomever, whenever, wherever, I’ll be ready for it,” Rodriguez said through an interpreter during the Dana White’s Contender Series 85 post-fight news conference. “If people like me to actually get that fight with Joseph, it would be great. I think it would be a great fight. I have nothing personal against the guy. This is all a job, but whoever it is, I’ll be ready for it.”
Rodriguez was asked what would go differently if he ran things back with Morales, who was the eventual flyweight tournament winner after submitting Alibi Idiris at UFC 319.
“Patience, that’s the one thing that I needed,” Rodriguez said. “These four months have taught me patience. Four months ago, I wanted to tackle the world. I wanted it all for myself and then you lose, and I went down deep. It hits you hard. It’s a reality check. You know you need to be patient, that you need to understand yourself, and I think the reason why it will be different is I am a different person. I’m not who I was four months ago, and I think that will go different.”
