With an impressive career tally of 17 wins and just 2 losses, Mexican sensation Ronaldo Rodriguez is gearing up to ignite the Octagon once more as he prepares to face his next challenge, Kevin Borjas. Hailing from Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico, Rodriguez initially stumbled in his Dana White’s Contender Series bout against Jerome Rivera. However, a commanding five-fight winning streak in the aftermath proved too compelling for UFC CEO Dana White, earning Rodriguez a well-deserved spot in the promotion.

The flyw͏eight ͏fighte͏r is looking͏ ͏to ͏make a ͏big ͏na͏me in the ͏prom͏otion͏ by de͏feating prominent opponents͏. However, on͏e ͏asp͏ect that makes him stand͏ out is͏ his͏ nickn͏ame:͏ ‘Lazy Bo͏y’. So why is Rodriguez going with such an unusual moniker—one that doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in MMA circles?

Meaning and story behind Ronaldo Rodriguez’s nickname ‘Lazy Boy’

Born in May 1999, Ronaldo Rodriguez was known for his jolly nature. After training for years, he made his professional MMA debut back in May 2017 in the bantamweight division. Soon after, he fought against Jerome Rivera at the DWCS but faced a brutal defeat. What is impressive, though, is that the fighter has been undefeated since.

This makes one wonder how he got his nickname, ‘Lazy Boy.’ He surely seems to be anything but ‘lazy.’ Well, according to the flyweight fighter, his nickname sounds cool in Spanish, but when translated into English, things get a bit funny. The fighter further added that his nickname implies a ground control position: “It was a technique in the game, I finish many opponents that way, it is a ground control position,” said Rodriguez.

He further added, “It sounds great in Spanish. I don’t know English but it does sound great in Spanish. At the beginning, I didn’t know what it meant but now I understood.” 

Interestingly, Rodriguez does defeat most of his opponents by finishing them, and the Mexican fighter has a 69 % finish rate (41% via submissions and 28% via KO), as per Tapology. Now that we know about his nickname, let us have a look at how he started his career fighting under UFC.

Rodriguez’s journey to the UFC

The Mexican fighter from Coatzacoalcos is friendly and carries a lot of energy around him. However, his story to the top is not an easy one. After his father abandoned him and his mother, Rodriguez had to go through many hardships to reach where he is today. With a heavy heart, Rodriguez moved to Mexico City, leaving his mother behind to follow his MMA dream.

The fighter started his professional MMA journey back in 2017 when he was just 18. After an impressive 10-1 career record, he was invited for the DWCS but he faced defeat at the hands of Jerome Rivera. Losing a chance to fight under UFC is a heavy thing, but Rodriguez didn’t let this stop him as he went on a five-fight winning streak in other promotions. Looking at his impressive record, the UFC CEO finally gave him a chance to fight.

His initial fight under the promotion was against Denys Bondar, and he defeated him by way of a rear naked choke, asserting his dominance. Can he make it 3-0 in the UFC this weekend? State your thoughts in the comments below.