Where did UFC star Daniel Rodriguez compete before joining the promotion?

Daniel Rodriguez is a mixed martial artist from Alhambra, California, who currently competes in the UFC's welterweight division. Rodriguez started his professional MMA career in 2015 and competed in major promotions like Bellator, King of the Cage and Combate Americas before signing up with the UFC.

Daniel Rodriguez put together an impressive amateur record of 7-0 at welterweight from 2013 to 2015. "D-Rod" then went professional, competing mainly in Combate Americas with the exception of a single fight at Bellator 170.

After racking up an 8-1 record, Daniel Rodriguez got the opportunity to compete in Dana White's Contender Series, where he picked up a unanimous decision victory over Rico Farrington. However, that wasn't enough to earn him a UFC contract. Daniel Rodriguez went on to win the Smash Global Welterweight championship before he was finally given a UFC contract.

Daniel Rodriguez made his UFC debut against Tim Means as a late replacement for Ramazan Emeev, who pulled out of the fight for undisclosed reasons. Rodriguez won the bout via second-round submission with a guillotine choke.

"That was intense." - Daniel RodriguezWE AGREE 😳#UFCVegas7 pic.twitter.com/SikVxU4ogL

— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) August 23, 2020

After picking up back-to-back wins against Gabriel Green and Dwight Grant, Daniel Rodriguez was riding a 9-fight win streak before he lost to Nicolas Dalby at UFC 255 via unanimous decision. Ahead of UFC 255, Daniel Rodriguez told UFC.com:

"Once I got to the UFC, I realized that there is a ladder to climb. For the most part, I let my fighting speak for itself. I’m quiet for the most part, but I’ll tell you this, it’s getting really hard to be quiet. So, I’m going to start making noise real soon. I’m going to handle my business and keep climbing and they won’t be able to ignore what I’m doing."

Daniel Rodriguez is scheduled to fight Mike Perry

Daniel Rodriguez will face Mike Perry in a welterweight match at the upcoming UFC Fight Night event on April 10th. Mike Perry has toyed with the idea of moving to middleweight for some time and even missed weight ahead of the bout against Tim Means, which he also lost.

If Mike Perry is disciplined enough to make weight for the fight, we can certainly expect fireworks in Daniel Rodriguez's most high-profile matchup till date.