There were many moments before Rodriguez knocked off undefeated opponents in back-to-back bouts that a discouraged Rodriguez resigned himself to not accomplishing what he had hoped in boxing.

The 31-year-old welterweight nicknamed “Hammer Hands” has a much more positive outlook as he prepares to face another unbeaten boxer, James Perella, in the 10-round co-feature of Zuffa Boxing 06 on Sunday night at UFC’s Meta APEX performance center.

“You chalk it up to, ‘Oh, it’s a dirty business,’” Rodriguez told The Ring. “Or you look at certain guys who don’t have half the talent or skill that you have getting these grand opportunities when there were times I struggled to buy my kids McDonald’s. It was crazy but again, I knew my potential, I know my value.

“To people who don’t know better, it sounds crazy. You hear that all the time when someone believes in themselves too much. But I made sure I stood my ground and reminded myself who I was on a daily basis. That’s how I was able to get through all that stuff.”

Rodriguez (25-1, 15 KOs) has proven valuable since he signed with Zuffa Boxing last year.

More than 12 years after he signed with Bob Arum’s Top Rank Inc. out of the amateurs, Rodriguez embodies what the emerging promotional company fronted by UFC president and CEO Dana White wants to do for fighters who either lacked opportunities or sought second and third chances to realize their potential after losing fights.

The Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey native impressed in his Zuffa Boxing debut January 23, when he outclassed then-unbeaten Cain Sandoval in a 10-round bout. Rodriguez defeated Sacramento’s Sandoval (17-1, 15 KOs) by unanimous decision almost seven months after he overcame an eighth-round knockdown to knock out Avious Griffin (19-1, 18 KOs) late in the 10th round of a very competitive fight on the Jake Paul-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. undercard June 28 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

He’ll fight for the third time in less than 11 months when he opposes Perella (21-0, 15 KOs), of Mansfield, Massachusetts, in the bout before middleweights Serhii Bohachuk and Shane Mosley Jr. square off in the main event of a tripleheader on Paramount+ (9 p.m. ET; 6 p.m. PT).

Rodriguez is confident this level of activity will enable him to fight for Zuffa’s welterweight title sooner than later.

“I feel like I overcame a lot of career-ending moments in my life and career,” Rodriguez said, “whether it was inside the ring, injuries, management stuff, whatever the case may be. But inactivity is the number one killer for fighters. So, I’m just grateful that not only did I come back from that physically, I completely revamped my whole career with the help of Zuffa and my management team. I have Dmitri Popov and Steve Beauharnais – these guys really are great businessmen. They worked hard to get me out of that little casket I was in for a little while.”

Rodriguez regrets not pressing for the knockout he knows he could’ve produced against Sandoval. The 2013 national Golden Gloves champion intends to take those requisite risks against the 33-year-old Perella, who is several inches taller than Rodriguez, yet will take a significant step up in competition.

However this fight and the remainder of 2026 unfold for Rodriguez, he is thankful that never quit boxing to fully pursue his passions for singing and acting when his career stalled.

“I just kept pushing,” Rodriguez said before referencing his 13-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter.

“My kids or my grandkids would be a lot more proud of me if I stuck it through, put the war paint on my face, went through all the adversity and came out on the other end. Or even if I didn’t come out on the other end, at least I tried. At least I had that Jersey mentality, where you can’t give up because times are tough. What type of example would that be to my kids?”