He wanted to make sure I was taken care of - Daniel Rodriguez reveals that Kevin Holland personally sent him DM about UFC 279 fight card shuffle
Daniel Rodriguez revealed in a recent interview that fellow welterweight fighter Kevin Holland reached out to him personally after the UFC 279 card was reshuffled. 'D-Rod' was originally scheduled to fight Holland in a catchweight bout. Khamzat Chimaev's failed weight cut impelled the UFC to book him against 'Trailblazer' instead.
Rodriguez went on to face Li Jingliang on a rejigged card and won the razor-close fight by split decision.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Daniel Rodriguez claimed that Kevin Holland personally messaged him to make sure that he was taken care of:
''He sent me a DM [Direct Message] in the morning. And he was like, 'Yo, this is a sh*t show, Khamzat didn't make weight.' He was telling me that he might come in for him.''
Rodriguez appreciated Holland's gesture to make sure that he was taken care of when the chaos sprung up:
''Props to him. He wanted to make sure I was taken care of and not left out of the situation without no fights. Atleast get paid a little something, so shoutout to him for that.''
Watch the clip below:
youtu.be/GkxOp7XFzuA.@drodufc tells @arielhelwani it was Kevin Holland who messaged him about taking the Khamzat Chimaev fight:
"He told the UFC matchmakers that he wanted to make sure I was taken care of."
▶️ youtu.be/GkxOp7XFzuA https://t.co/5H1VT2Zj7M
Daniel Rodriguez open to a rematch against Li Jingliang
Daniel Rodriguez emerged victorious against Li Jingliang at UFC 279 after a chaotic fight week. The American picked up a split-decision victory against 'The Leech', who weighed in almost 8 lbs lighter than his opponent.
Fans of mixed martial arts were divided in the aftermath of the fight, with some even going as far as to label it a "robbery". Even UFC President Dana White scored the fight in favor of Jingliang.
Rodriguez, who was disconcerted by the hooting fans during the fight, called for a rematch against his Chinese opponent in an Instagram post.
Having had time to reflect on the performance, 'D-Rod' claims that while he wants to move up the welterweight ladder, he is open to a rematch against 'The Leech' to silence the doubters:
''I don't really care. I feel like it was a close fight, I don't feel like he was robbed. I just said that I'll rematch him to shut people up. If they want a rematch, I'm down with a rematch but I'm down to keep climbing the ladder up as well.''
Watch Daniel Rodriguez's interview on The MMA Hour below: