Daniel Cormier congratulates UFC Mexico debutant halfway through the interview

Daniel Cormier called his protégé mid-interview after a successful UFC debut. Cormier grad Imanol Rodriguez (7-0) made his UFC debut in a flyweight booking against Kevin Borjas (10-5) at UFC Mexico on Saturday at Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico. The undefeated Rodriguez was a huge -470 favorite in his UFC debut. But Borjas dropped Rodriguez twice early in the first round, which seemed to set the stage for a huge upset. However, Rodriguez managed to take Borjas down and survive the first round. Rodriguez repeated his dominance on the mat in the second round before knocking Borjas out with a barrage late in the round. Rodriguez says he realized Borjas was tired enough from wrestling to get to the finish.

The Academieweg

“I knew it was going to be a tough fight,” Rodriguez told the UFC. “Kevin was really hungry for a win too, so I knew he was trying to take my head off. But I was focused and followed the strategy and thank God I ended up with a win… I take my opponent out and when he came up he came up really tired. So I looked at it and just tried to finish the fight.”Rodriguez’s interview was interrupted by a congratulatory call from his coach, Daniel Cormier, who told him, “That’s the way the academy works.” Rodriguez was initially part of Cormier’s team on Season 33 of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ last year, where he was eliminated in the semi-finals. The 26-year-old then began training full-time under “DC” and earned his UFC contract with a first-round knockout win on Dana White’s Contender Series last year.