Rodrigues reveals how patience and experience carried him past Hernandez at UFC Sacramento

Gregory Rodrigues extended his winning streak to four fights with a hard-fought unanimous decision over Anthony Hernandez in the main event of UFC Sacramento, and the Brazilian middleweight says it was patience — not power — that ultimately saw him through.

Rodrigues, known as “Robocop”, had success early with calf kicks but could not put Hernandez away. Rather than forcing the issue, he drew on lessons from previous UFC bouts where he had faded under sustained pressure.

“I started calf kicks. I couldn’t finish. He came back,” Rodrigues said in his post-fight interview. “He hit me really good, but I put my mind on the place and I said, ‘OK, OK, I went in this position before.’”

Hernandez’s wrestling remained relentless throughout, and he switched to a southpaw stance for much of the later rounds, making him a difficult puzzle to solve. Rodrigues admitted that in earlier UFC appearances he had allowed fatigue to derail him, but this time he consciously reset between exchanges rather than chasing a finish.

“I have to go back and then, you know, like organize my thoughts and keep going forward,” Rodrigues added. “The fight is not over yet. I have three more rounds to put my pace in and then to find a different way to win. I just keep my patience, man… And I said, ‘OK, no problem. We have more time. We have more rounds to fight.’ So, I just calm down, calm down.”

The performance earned both men Fight of the Night honours, a recognition that reflected the sustained back-and-forth nature of the contest. With the win secured, Rodrigues wasted little time looking ahead, calling out former middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis in his post-fight interview — a statement of intent from a fighter who has now quietly built one of the division’s more consistent recent records.