UFC star Daniel Rodriguez claims that cartel members protected him in Mexico, while he was serving time in a Mexican jail.
After his last fight against Kevin Holland at UFC 318 back in July 2025, he disappeared from the radar. Many people questioned the reason behind the silence.
However, earlier this month, he finally broke the silence on his absence and posted a video on his social media platform, Instagram. He captioned it “Release Day.”
After a long 8-month wait, this was his post. It was a bizarre silence given that he is on a three-win streak. During his streak, he defeated Alex Morono, Santiago Ponzinibbio, and Holland between October 2024 and July 2025.
The UFC veteran spoke to Ariel Helwani earlier in this week. He explained that he was on a holiday in Mexico and forgot that he had a small amount of cannabis.
“It was under an ounce, and I got pulled over at the line and checked — the border patrol were tripping on the weed,” he said.
After that, he finally opened up about the experience in the Mexican prison. During his interaction, he revealed that he was protected by high-ranking members of the cartel.
He said, “I’ve been in jail before. It’s not my first rodeo, but this was a whole different monster.”
“Surrounded by the lowest of the low. You can imagine jail, then you can imagine jail in Mexico.”
He also explained how he got a lot of love in jail due to his affiliation with UFC. He has already been offered a comeback fight against former welterweight champion Leon Edwards in July.
He continued, “I did get a lot of love in there, but it is jail, and it is Mexico.”
“It was a crazy experience. Luckily, nothing happened. I was in the right crowd of people where nobody f***ed with me, nobody messed with me, and I didn’t have to beat anybody’s ass or anything like that.”
After that, he added, “I got an amazing offer. You guys will probably be seeing me in there with Leon Edwards, International Fight Week, sometime around July.”
“I’ve been thinking about it, and made the decision right now. I’m accepting the offer for Leon Edwards, International Fight Week. Let’s go!”
