Entering 2025 on a 3-fight winning streak that included a stoppage of Tavares and a decision win over Christian Leroy Duncan in Manchester, Rodrigues was paired off with Jared Cannonier in February in the first UFC main event of his career. He took the fight to the former title challenger straight away, winning the opening round on all three scorecards.
But as the fight progressed, Rodrigues ceded ground to the resilient and steady Cannonier, who won the next two frames before securing a finish 21 seconds into the fourth round.
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“The main event last year against Jared Cannonier was a gamechanger for me as a fighter — how much I learned about patience, about who I am, about what I can do, how I can fight better, improve myself, and how to put it all together inside the Octagon,” he said. “I think the biggest lesson was about patience and enjoying being inside the Octagon more. You need to want (to be in there for the whole fight). If it’s 15 minutes, 25 minutes, you need to want this.
“I remember after the first round, I just wanted to try to finish the fight and get out,” admitted Rodrigues. “He was so resilient and broke me. He was patient, didn’t change. After the fight, he said he was broken, but ‘Inside, I knew I needed to be dangerous.’ From my side, that wasn’t the fight I was seeing. I was see the same guy since the beginning, punching and kicking him, and he didn’t change.”
