Kleydson Rodrigues earns the UD win
[
following an impressive striking performance
#DWCS live on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/SQ5uxPoL01— UFC (@ufc)
September 22, 2021
Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on
your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the
ESPN app. The sky is the limit for Kleydson
Rodrigues, according to friend and mentor Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira.
Growing up in the slums of the Amazon region in the Brazilian state
of Amapa, Rodrigues had a very tough childhood, living in a house
on stilts raised over a river. When he was 14 years old, he would
to sell bread as soon as the sun was up in order to help his
family, before going to school. In the afternoon, after returning
from school, he sold homemade ice cream. Passionate about fighting,
“K.R.” saved every cent his parents gave him to buy Ultimate Fighting Championship and Pride Fighting Championships DVDs.
Inspired by his uncle, a capoeira practitioner, with whom he
learned his first moves, he entered the martial arts world. Guided
by his instinct, Rodrigues reached MMA and entered into his first
fight at 17 years old, and he never stopped. When advised about the
talented kid, Thiago
dos Santos e Silva brought him to Rio de Janeiro, over 1,650
miles away from his hometown, to train at
Team Nogueira several years ago.
At the fourth week of the 2021 season of Dana White’s Contender Series, Rodrigues
appeared and captured a spirited unanimous decision win over
Santo
Curatolo. UFC President Dana White was thrilled at his
performance, signing the Brazilian flyweight along with a few
others at the end of the night. Former UFC and Pride FC heavyweight
champ Nogueira was among the first to celebrate Rodrigues’ success,
and after he posted on Instagram about the
signing, he spoke to Sherdog about Rodrigues.
“A history of success, a winner of life and fighting,” Nogueira
noted about his student.
He continued to gush about Rodrigues, explaining that, “he
conquered the contract, impressing a lot with his speed and
power.”
On Thursday, Rodrigues’ UFC debut on Jan. 15 was
announced against Uzbekistan native Zarrukh
Adashev. Although Nogueira admitted he did not know much about
Adashev, he was nonetheless excited about the prospect of Rodrigues
joining the UFC. “Minotauro” was both proud and optimistic about
how far the 26-year-old can go in the Octagon.
“This guy was brought to Team Nogueira by his friend, former UFC
fighter, [Thiago] Trator six years ago,” Nogueira said. “We tried
to give the best structure for him, and he impressed our head coach
Vander Valverde from the beginning, not only for his kicking
ability, but also for his fast evolution both in wrestling and on
the ground. Of course, [the] UFC is the world cup of MMA, I don’t
know too much about his first opponent yet, but for my experience
with talents I would say this guy has a great future and will
provide great fights in flyweight division.”
Rodrigues joins Raulian
Paiva, Felipe
Dias Colares, “Trator,” and John
Teixeira among the few fighters from Amapa in UFC history.
“K.R.” has seven MMA fights since debuting in 2015, and he served
as the Jungle Fight flyweight champion before relinquishing
his title to go to the major leagues. After five impressive wins in
a row at Rio de Janeiro events, with the last one for the Jungle
Fight title, Rodrigues earned the chance to show his skills in
DWCS. Earning the contract and already preparing for his
organizational debut, Rodrigues has realized the first part of his
dream.
