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Pete Rodriguez will take a significant step forward in terms of level of competition when he makes his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut at UFC 270 on Saturday at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Rodriguez serves as a short-notice substitution for Warlley Alves and collides with Dana White’s Contender Series graduate Jack Della Maddalena on the undercard. The combined record of the promotional newcomer’s opponents to this point registers a disappointing 4-13. Even so, Rodriguez has shown some remarkable skills, especially on the feet. He has raced out to a 4-0 record despite spending only 4:37 inside the cage.

At 25 years of age, Rodriguez has competed professionally in mixed martial arts since October 2020. The Arizonan has shown tremendous potential thus far, even if his approach will likely require some tweaking as he gains more experience. Limited film footage indicates that the Dominate MMA standout prefers to stand and bang with his opponents. Rodriguez competed in different weight classes as an amateur, moving as far up as light heavyweight. However, he opted to settle in at 170 pounds upon turning pro. Rodriguez looks like someone who could even drop to lightweight if he so desired, though the cut might negatively impact his knockout power.

Rodriguez has made all four of his appearances in the iKon Fighting Federation, where he debuted against Jorge Olea on Oct. 22, 2020. After exchanging a few shots on the feet, “Dead Game” turned a middle kick from Olea into a successful takedown. Rodriguez did not appear to be at ease while grappling, but his skills were good enough to allow him to maul his counterpart with punches and elbows while keeping him pinned to the canvas. The referee decided the turtled Olea was no longer intelligently defending himself and stopped the contest 1:25 into Round 1.

In his second assignment, Rodriguez barely broke a sweat, as he disposed of Yasser Guzman de la Cruz on Nov. 20, 2020. He landed a flying knee right out of the gate, dropped his opponent and battered him on the mat. While many of the follow-up shots seemed to land behind de la Cruz’s head, it was over in just 10 seconds. Rodriguez authored another sub-minute stoppage in his third outing. He leveled an overextended Jose Luis Rios with a short hook and left him unconscious a mere 41 seconds into their iKon Fighting Federation 6 confrontation on April 2, 2021.

Rodriguez’s final pre-UFC appearance unfolded at iKon Fighting Federation 7, where he locked horns with Roberto Uriel Pixley Nava on June 11, 2021. He defended a takedown from Nava and answered his adversary with ease. On the floor, Rodriguez lost half guard before putting plenty of energy into a slam that allowed him to stay in top position and start applying some ground-and-pound. Nava returned to his feet, only to be backed into a corner and met with a nasty uppercut and a follow-up shot. The effect of the blows was immediate. Nava collapsed with his back against the ropes, resulting in the finish 2:21 into Round 1. It was the longest fight of Rodriguez’s brief career. After his fourth straight stoppage, he was a mix of fatigue and elation, not yet knowing bigger and better things were on the horizon.