“I liked Kendall Grove, so I’m going, ‘Kendall Grove is gonna win it; he’s gonna take it.’ And he’s like ‘Hell no, I’m going with Ed.’”
Herman lost a close, but unanimous, decision to Grove that night, earning Rodriguez some bragging rights. And now, 14 years later, he’ll be throwing hands with him, which led to a phone call to Harley.
“Guess who I’m about to fight? Ed Herman, your boy.”
But will Harley still be rooting for Herman this weekend?
“That’s what I’m saying,” laughs Rodriguez, who is embracing the opportunity, not looking at it as something strange to be fighting someone he grew up watching.
“It’s cool,” he said. “I used to watch (coach) Joe (Lauzon) growing up and I see him every damn day. It’s definitely pretty cool.”
That’s how Rodriguez would describe 2020, as well, which isn’t what many would say, but after a rough 2019, he’s sticking to his guns.
“I got no beef with 2020,” he said. “Honestly, I think the COVID stuff was really good for me. The thing is, I was so distracted (in 2019). I was working at a bar, bartending, and it was sort of crazy. I’d be coming in at four o’clock in the morning, get a couple hours of sleep, get to the gym the next day, and I was just in a s**tty place last year. So when COVID hit, at first I was like, ‘Oh man,’ but I took it in and I’m like, ‘You know what, this is good because I needed this pause.’ I stuck with the family and did everything with the family.”
Everything. So now he’s got to get back to that haircut.