Daniel Rodriguez may have paid the price for agreeing to face Kelvin Gastelum at 185 pounds, but it wasn’t all bad news for the 37-year-old Californian.
Rodriguez and Gastelum were originally scheduled to meet at welterweight at UFC on ABC 6, but the terms of the bout were changed when Gastelum arrived in Saudi Arabia for fight week overweight and requested the bout be at middleweight. Rodriguez opted to continue with the bout and lost by unanimous decision on Saturday at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. However, “D-Rod” got some rewards from competing at a heavier weight class than he originally expected.
“Okay guys. I’m done complaining about the fight. Fuck it. It happened,” Rodriguez said in a video on his Instagram Story. “I knew the risks. With risks come big rewards. I lost the fight but I got so much more in return: massive respect from the fighting community, a nice pay raise, a six-fight contract and 30 percent of his shitty fight.” [purse].
“I can’t even be mad. Yes, I wanted to win, but at the end of the day, I want more. I knew the risks. I took the risks and I put on a great show. The fans love me. I love you all. My kids are proud. My family is proud. I lost, but I won. None of that matters. I can’t wait to get home from the airport and love life. Let’s go.”
Rodriguez has lost three straight inside the Octagon, while Gastelum received criticism from UFC CEO Dana White after the fight.
“I’m not happy with Kelvin Gastelum right now,” White said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “He’s missed weight like three times in his career.”
White said Gastelum’s issues seem even more serious when you consider that several fighters accepted bouts at UFC Saudi Arabia on short notice and still performed as per their contracts.
“There are kids out there fighting a week before, jumping onto the card, coming over here and making weight and Kelvin’s not making weight,” White said. “It’s very disappointing.”
