Though his hand was raised at the end of each contest, it was impossible for Rodriguez to come away from the encounters feeling like he’d done something worthy of praise.
“It was very rough,” began Rodriguez, reflecting on last year ahead of his first appearance of 2024 — a featherweight engagement with another ascending, unbeaten talent, Isaac Dulgarian. “Obviously, I won, but in my heart, I feel like I didn’t win. A lot of people congratulated me on those wins, but when I look myself in the mirror, I’m very disappointed, which is why I’m very excited for this upcoming year.
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“Last year really affected me a lot. After the Cameron fight, I got pretty down. Everyone would congratulate me, tell me I had a really good fight, but whenever I looked myself in the mirror, I’m like, ‘What am I doing?’
“I wasn’t satisfied. I wasn’t happy,” he added. “Getting paid and winning is every fighter’s dream, but I wasn’t happy with that, which is why this year is very personal for me.”