Weight Class: Middleweight
Record: 7-1
Age: 29 (per broadcast of last fight, Tapology/Sherdog list him as 27)
Height: 6’1”
Born In: Brazil
Training Out Of: Astra Fight Team
Combined Opponent Records (at the time they fought): 18-9-1
Key Wins: Gabriel Ramos
Boasting six finishes out of seven pro wins, Douglas “Blade” Rodrigues won the vacant Future MMA middleweight belt last weekend with a nasty second-round knockout.
Rodrigues made his pro MMA debut in 2017 and only needed 32 seconds to stop fellow debutant Juli Cezar with strikes at Copa Fight Master before he followed that up with what stands as his lone submission-win at Centuriao Fight Open 4 the following year (bout listed on Sherdog, but not on Tapology).
A unanimous decision loss to close out 2018 preceded a layoff of more than three years for the Brazilian middleweight before he returned in early 2022 and secured a first-round knockout against Guilherme Assis. After getting his hand raised by decision for the first time at Fight Pro Championship 3 in 2023, Rodrigues was out of action for another two years but returned last April to stop Emerson Richard with strikes in his Future MMA debut.
A buzzer-beater knockout of Jaime Souza last November set up the opportunity for Rodrigues to fight for the promotion’s vacant middleweight belt at Future MMA 17. Facing Gabriel Ramos, who entered the night with a 7-1-1 record and an impressive finishing rate of his own, Rodrigues secured Future MMA gold with a brutal knockout in the second round.
Although his record does feature one win via triangle choke, there’s no doubt that Rodrigues is most effective when he’s able to keep his fights standing. He’s an active kicker that likes to batter the lead leg of his opponents and is comfortable throwing high kicks with both legs, and he’ll also look to target the body with his kicking game as well.
Not always the most comfortable leading, Rodrigues really puts his weight behind his counter shots and almost always answers with combinations. “Blade” does also have a solid jab that will snap his opponents’ heads back, and he can inflict some serious damage when he follows it with a right straight. He also likes looking for opportunities to load up on a rear uppercut, as well as land heavy left hooks to both the head and body.
The Brazilian has shown off decent takedown defense in his career thus far, but the moments when he has been brought down haven’t looked especially encouraging. Rodrigues will try to throw his legs up during any initial scrambles and can power back to his feet as soon as his opponent gives him space, but when his back fully hits the canvas he has a tendency to just try and hold guard to force a standup.
The other major concern for Rodrigues is his lack of head movement and tendency to get a bit wild when pursuing opponents, but he does have some considerable power and has multiple weapons to separate his opposition from consciousness. Beating a solid opponent in Ramos to win the Future MMA belt was a big moment for him, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get the call for Dana White’s Contender Series if he’s able to collect another finish this year.