Nick Rodriguez


Nick Rodriguez is an American submission grappler who competes in no-gi matches. He is the 2019 ADCC World Championship runner-up and the 2018 World Champion as a blue belt.

Wrestling career

Rodriguez was born and raised in Clayton, New Jersey and attended Clayton High School. He started wrestling when he was 12 years old in sixth grade and qualified for the NJSIAA championships as a senior but did not place. After high school, Rodriguez attended Ferrum College, that has an NCAA Division III wrestling program. In between his last match as a high school wrestler and his first match as a collegiate wrestler, he gained 50 pounds, bulking up from 170 to 220 pounds. Rodriguez only attended college for one year, in which he placed fourth at the East Regionals and posted a record of 23 wins and 4 losses. He then pursued a modeling career until 2018.
Rodriguez made his return to wrestling on October 5 of 2019 when he faced that year's US World Team Member Pat Downey in a super-fight under freestyle rules at Who's Number One. He lost the match by technical fall.

Grappling career

In 2018, he was convinced by a friend to attend his first Jiu-jitsu class to stay fit. After two weeks of training, he attended his first submission wrestling competition and went on to win the advanced 230 pounds and absolute brackets. A few months later, he moved to Renzo Gracie Academy with coach John Danaher, who awarded him his blue belt later on.

2018

After a failed attempt to qualify for the ADCCs, Rodriguez competed at the IBJJF World Championship in the blue belt division. He submitted all of his three opponents to claim the championship.

2019

As just a blue belt, Rodriguez qualified for the 2019 ADCC World Championships after winning the North American trials. He unbelievably defeated three elite level black belts in Mahamed Aly, Orlando Sanchez and Cyborg Abreu to make it to the finals, where he was downed by IBJJF Black Belt World Champion Kaynan Duarte on points, making him the runner-up of the tournament.
He then competed against Duarte in a rematch in which he lost. He also competed at the BJJ Fanatics Grand Prix.

2020

After his bronze medal finish at the KASAI Pro 7, Rodriguez was scheduled to face 19' US World Team Member Pat Downey at Third Coast Grappling IV in an special-ruleset match on March 14. However, the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He then competed at Third Coast Grappling: Kumite IV on July 11. He was eliminated in the first round.

Championships and accomplishments

;2020
;2019
;2018