Why Was UFC’s Daniel Rodriguez in Prison?

Daniel Rodriguez is set to return to the UFC against Kelvin Gastelum at UFC Saudi Arabia. Rodriguez is currently on a two-fight losing streak. With a record of 17 wins and just 4 losses, the fighter looks forward to turning his losing streak into a winning streak. On the opposing corner, Gastelum boasts a record of 18 wins and 9 defeats. He too is coming out of a losing streak. But ‘D-Rod’ has issues of his own. 

‘D-Rod’s previous fight against Santiago Ponzinibbio faced a roadblock when the fighter tested positive for ostarine. This led the USADA to suspend him for 3 months. But did you know that the mixed martial artist was previously incarcerated?

The reason behind Daniel Rodriguez’s incarceration 

In an interview with MMA Fighting, back in 2021, Rodriguez revealed that there was a time when he had to move in and out of prison. The revelation came when the mixed martial artist was asked about how he entered the realm of martial arts. 

Rodriguez disclosed that he first walked into an MMA gym back when he was just 25 years old. But the story before he entered the world of mixed martial arts was a shocker for many. Hailing from Los Angeles, D-Rod claimed that he was born into a family affiliated with gangs, with his family tree having some ancestry in Mexico. 

You heard it right! Daniel Rodriguez revealed that his family has ties with gangs. As a result of this, he spent quite a bit of time in lockups, because he got into a lot of fights. He said, “I’m from Los Angeles, you know… I grew up around gang life, you know. Both my parents, my mom and my dad, are both neighborhoods, you know. And both gang affiliated. A lot of my family members are… I spent a lot of time locked up, you know. I got a lot of fights, I got a lot of brawls and s***…”

The fighter seemed glad to have overcome that part of his life. Without a doubt, the hood life played a big role in him choosing a career in MMA. He claimed that it was what made him fearless and fight people as strong as Mike Perry and Ian Garry. But there are certain things that he left out in that interview.

Daniel Rodriguez talks about his dark past

In another conversation with TMZ Sports, right after he defeated Perry via a unanimous decision at UFC on ABC 2. During the talks, the fighter claimed that he was a “hood baby” and had made quite a few bad choices in his early life. He then went on to reveal the dark side of prison life. He compared fighting in a jail cell and the Octagon. Without a doubt, he claimed that fighting in lockup was indeed terrible.

D-Rod revealed that if a fight broke out inside a jail cell, there would be no referee to stop the fight if things went wrong. “There’s a referee in [the Octagon]. There’s somebody to stop it… I’ve been in situations where ain’t nobody gonna stop it … so it’s kill or [be killed],” said the fighter. He didn’t even have to take a moment to blurt out that a jail fight was far scarier than a fight in the MMA promotion.

What do you think of Rodriguez’s incarceration? Do you believe that his past can help propel him to overcome Gastelum in their next fight? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.