Gregory Rodrigues punished Christian Leroy Duncan on the feet and on the ground to win a lopsided decision at UFC 304.
Whether he was unleashing nasty punches or putting Duncan on his back just begging for air, Rodrigues kept up the relentless pressure over all three rounds to leave no doubt he was going home with a victory. All three judges scored the fight 30-27 with Rodrigues getting the unanimous decision victory.
“I’m just showing today, I’m a complete fighter,” Rodrigues said. “I can fight striking, I can take him down. I teach him tonight. Hey Dana [White], Hunter [Campbell], I just showed tonight the UFC had levels. I want to fight for the rankings. I want to be the champion in this division.”
The middleweights were throwing heavy leather immediately with Rodrigues connecting with a stiff left hand to get Duncan’s attention early. Duncan showed no fear trading shots with Rodrigues on the feet but the Brazilian quickly switched things up with a well-timed takedown.
From the top position, Rodrigues dropped down some slick elbows and punches with Duncan showing patience until he could scramble out of the bad position. Even when the fight got back to the feet, Rodrigues was still connecting with some great punches, which actually led to Duncan to grab onto the clinch and work against the cage.
When the fighters separated, Rodrigues clubbed Duncan with another hard shot as he continued to dish out more punishment in every facet of the game. Rodrigues slammed home a couple of nasty right hands late in the second round as Duncan really started to wear the damage on his face.
As time ticked away, Rodrigues remained in control and Duncan was shifting into survival mode just to ensure that he made it to the final horn. The exhausting pressure from Rodrigues wasn’t slowing down as he continued to work for better positions to set up strikes or potentially look for a submission.
Even with blood pouring out of his face from a cut he suffered, Rodrigues just kept hammering away with Duncan losing any hope for a comeback.
While he wasn’t able to put Duncan away, Rodrigues dominated the entire fight to get the win after accepting this matchup on short notice while also traveling into his opponent’s backyard for the opportunity. Overall, Rodrigues has now won three fights in a row as he continues to prove he’s a force in the middleweight division.
