Ray “The Judge” Rodriguez looking to lay claim to name recognition once-and-for-all in Legacy 17 “Rodriguez Bowl”

By Felix Rodriguez, Staff Writer

SAN ANTONIO, TX, January 22, 2013 –It may be happening two days before the big football game hits the TV but there’s another bowl happening two days prior in the Alamo City on February 1st when the “Rodriguez Bowl” pitting Ray Rodriguez and his namesake Rey Rodriguez one another at the Legacy Fighting Championship 17 event happening at Cowboys Dance Hall.

We recently caught up with one of them in Ray (not Rey) to discuss the fight in more detail.

When it comes to history, Ray “The Judge” Rodriguez (2-1 pro record) has been a fighter  for “a little more than five years” and was first exposed to MMA through the army – practicing Modern Army Combatives training extensively while living in Europe all the way until he got back to Texas and put that practice to good use. According to him, his goal is to put on an exciting performance every time he steps into the cage. Justin Salas and Josh Rios will attest to that from last year. Both men were on the losing end of what became Rodriguez’s professional and amateur KO of the year nominees for TXMMA’s 2012 Annual MMA Awards.

Looking to move ahead quickly as a pro, Rodriguez wants to win fans over with his crowd-pleasing style and continue progressing as a mixed martial artist. He told TXMMA,“you will never find me riding my opponent and waiting for that bell to ring; every time I step in the cage I’m looking for a finish and nothing less.”

Preparation has been key to his success and he sees this next fight as nothing different with his training schedule being paramount to everything else leading up to it.

“There’s nothing like being at home getting beat up by people that are there day in and day out to make sure you’re at 100% come fight night,” says Ray – a resident over at San Antonio’s Brazilian Top Team. He also spent some time traveling around the state to get different looks for this one also, training with such vets as Colton Smith , Adam Schindler and Phil Platt over at Fort Hood Fight House along with guys like Daniel Pineda, Alex Black, Jeremy Mahon, Chris Lopez and many others in Houston. According to him, it’s this overall quality of training everywhere that will to victory.

As for his opponent, Ray stated matter of factly that he’s a “good” fighter with “heavy hands,” “coming off a brutal knockout,” which should present for a fun fight but he’s also a guy he’s wanted to fight ever since they amateurs simply because they have the same name, “I have nothing against him but I want people to think of me whenever they talk about “Ray Rodriguez,” said The Judge.

And so it goes. He’s now looking to lay claim to that title in the fighting equivalent of racing for pink slips at Legacy Fighting Championship 17. Well… not really but something like that. Then he want to go ahead and rematch the only guy to beat him (Ernest De La Cruz) before dropping down an extra 10 pounds to the busy bantamweight division.

The man has lots of goals on his mind and he knows he has to work hard to get there – starting with February 1st at Cowboys Dance Hall where he will be blessed to fight in front of his hometown fans.

When asked if he had anything he’d like to say to TXMMA readers Rodriguez took the opportunity to thank all of his sponsors, “Jaco, Geared Up Nutrition, Furious Brand, Martha’s Cocina, TC Safety, Remax VISTA, Bexar Care Home Health, Prick Tattoos, all of [his] coaches and training partners at Brazilian top Team and The Muscle Factory, Mike Calimbas, TXMMA and custom barbershop in Floresville Texas.

Legacy Fighting Championship 17 will take place February 01, 2013 at the Cowboy Dancehall in San Antonio, Texas. The event’s main card will be broadcasted by AXS TV at 10pm EST, make sure to tune in and support the Texas fight scene!

Legacy Fighting Championship 17