Interview with MMA pro Joe Rodriguez, LFA MMA card Friday

It's a big night tomorrow for Utah MMA. Legacy Fighting Alliance is in West Valley City at The Maverik Center. The AXS TV card headlines Jon Neal, of Ogden, against Tyler Diamond. Also fighting in bouts are Josh Burkman, LJ Schulz, Westin Wilson, Kaytlin Neil, Zac Cavender, and Marco Sanchez. Also, Bobby King meets Fabio Serrao.

Also on the card is veteran 185 pounder Joe Rodriguez, who trains out of One Hit MMA and University of Grappling. He meets Emilio Trevino. We've followed Joe's successful career for years and appreciate him granting Utah Fight Game a pre-fight interview.

What does it mean for you to return to an LFA fight card, particularly one in Northern Utah?

Rodriguez:  I wasn't expecting to fight on a big show. After Glory kickboxing, an injury put me out for a year then I couldn't find any fights a year later for 185 lbs. (After) two years of not fighting I was about to call it quits. Beginning of 2018 I moved up to 205 lbs to fight a guy from Colorado, then I had another one after that and now LFA will be my 3rd fight at 205. I'm honored to fight for LFA given the fact that I am 41 years of age so maybe I do have some fight left in me.

What do you know about your opponent?

Rodriguez: I know my opponent has a karate background, fights southpaw and orthodox. Doesn't matter to me, I've trained with the best southpaw in Utah (Jordan Smith) for years. He hasn't fought the level of guys I have fought so I'm sure I'll be a challenge for him but I will not underestimate him.

How has training gone? It's at One Hit MMA and University of Grappling.

Rodriguez: Training has been good, One Hit MMA (Aldo Oreggia) and University Of Grappling (Marc Brewer). I train and spar with all my guys, big and small with experience from both gyms. It's good to have a variety of styles and people always making the movement different.

Where do you hope to be in your career a year from now?

Rodriguez: I am 41 years old. I didn't imagine fighting this long so where I'll be in a year, I really can't say. I've accomplished something that I never would have imagined doing, Fighting Bellator twice, RFA, Glory Kickboxing and now LFA. Not many people can say they've done what I have starting at 34 years old with absolutely no fight experience, not knowing a thing about MMA.

Good luck Joe, tomorrow night, as well as the others on the card. 

A couple of extra notes. As we mentioned last week, Utah MMA amateur Hayden Brown fights for a Tuff-N-Uff title Saturday in Las Vegas. Also, last week, MMA fighter Rowdy Akers scored a first round stoppage in his debut as a professional kickboxer, winning a Bare Knuckle Combat League title. And last weekend in Georgia, Kaecy Raddon, formerly of Utah now living in Colorado, who is a Mountain Force Kickboxing champion, scored a kickboxing win over Mexico's Luis Espinosa in international competition sanctioned by the World Association of Kickboxing Organizations (WAKO).

Neal defeats Cowan, Herrera over Akers

We have results for the Jan. 7 SteelFist MMA card in Farmington. They are courtesy of Fighting Out of Utah MMA's Jeffrey "Dutch" Dutcher. In the main event, Ogden's Jon Neal remained undefeated stopping Payson's Tanner Cowan in round two via strikes to win the SteelFist 145-pound title. With the win he now has two titles, having previously won the SteelFist 155-pound belt. Cowan is a highly regarded veteran and it's a win that will likely move Neal into a higher-echelon bout.

In fact, Aldo Oreggia, of One Hit MMA, says Jon will probably move into a Legacy Fighting Alliance card soon. Aldo was told that Neal was at the top of the list for 145 pounders at LFA. Oreggia also said Neal will avoid the periods of inactivity that he's had the past few years, and plans to fight regularly as he works to move up the ladder.

Herrera victorious

In the co-main event, Kyle Herrera scored a nice win, defeating tough Rowdy Akers via a heel hook in round one. In the 160-pound pro bout Herrera floored Akers with a left hook. The game Akers fought off the knockdown but was later caught in the hook, forcing a tap.

In an 125-pound amateur rematch, Steve Chan won a unanimous three-round decision over Brandon Rease. Chan had stopped Rease a couple of years ago. In two pro bouts, Justin Van Horn stopped Ed Moroney in two, 205 pounds, and Carson Gregory stopped Josh Bateman in round one, 170 pounds.

In more amateur bouts, Kaden Weston stopped Brian Gates in round one, 145, Luke Smith stopped Elias Landau in round one, 185, Brandon Know stopped Daryl Sullivan in round 2, 135, Cory Rose defeated Ian Kahng in round two, 155, and Gavin Weston stopped Nick Lund in the second round, 145.

In what Dutcher described as a "great fight," 175-pound amateur Joshua Ferrera defeated Kelleck Diamond via unanimous three-round decision. "Both guys came out swinging. Both showed great heart and some rock-solid chins," Dutcher said.