Welcome to the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Imanol Rodriguez.
Making his UFC debut in Mexico City on Saturday night, Rodriguez — who trains out of Sanchez Boxing MMA in Santa Rosa — put on a show by beating Kevin Borjas via technical knockout in the second round.
“I had a feeling we were going to knock him out,” said Rosendo Sanchez, Rodriguez’s coach and owner of the Santa Rosa gym. “He got caught and was hurt but used his wrestling (abilities). I wanted him to use his wrestling a bit more, but he wanted to show the world his power.”
With just under a minute to go in the second round, Rodriguez fired a left hand to the body of Borjas that was followed by an overhand right that just missed. Borjas tried to circle away to his left, but Rodriguez — known as “Himan” in the octagon — cut off the angle and went with a 1-2 combination to the head.
Then, with Borjas’ back against the fence, Rodriguez led with a kick to the body that set up an overhand right, clipping Borjas on the temple. Borjas’s knees buckled, and Rodriguez followed up with a flurry of strikes that ultimately ended the fight.
“I’m very happy,” Rodriguez told The Press Democrat after the bout. “I was really happy with my performance, and it was a dream to perform in Mexico City.”
Rodriguez now improves to 7-0 in his MMA career, but more importantly, 1-0 in the UFC. His journey has just begun.