Comic book superhero nicknames might not be too common in the world of mixed martial arts. But fighters certainly love to have their names associated with characters wielding extraordinary powers. Chuck Liddell was nicknamed ‘The Iceman’, with references pointing at the Omega-level mutant from X-Men. Anderson Silva took up the moniker ‘Spider’ because he loved Spider-Man as a kid. Ryan Spann is yet another fighter with a superhuman nickname with ‘Superman’ echoing in the arena as his name gets announced. But not many have chosen ‘Robocop’ except Gregory Rodrigues.
The originally Marvel cyborg police officer is a character that’s probably not known for his fighting skills. Even though he’s a powerful cop with superior crime-fighting roles, it’s his struggle to balance his humanity with his reality as a machine that has kept the comics going. But is that the reason why Rodrigues took up the name of the Marvel Comics’ cyborg? Let’s find out!
Why is Gregory Rodrigues called ‘Robocop’?
On the fighter fact section of Rodrigues’ page on UFC.com, the middleweight fighter revealed the secret to his nickname. And it was because “I fight like a robot.” According to Marvel Comics, Allen Murphy became Robocop when his remains were combined with metal and electronics after he was nearly k-lled on the line of duty. This gave him the strength and abilities that a normal human can’t possess. But it’s his persistence and habit of striving for victory even after being severely damaged that rhymed with Rodrigues.
If you remember the middleweight’s fight against Chidi Njokuani at UFC Vegas 60, you’ll notice the similarity that Rodrigues carries with Robocop. Despite being cut in the forehead, Rodrigues kept pushing forward and won the bout with a second-round KO. In his last bout against Brad Tavares, ‘Robocop’ exploited his robotic strikes quite a few times. Well, it’s his perfect techniques and movements that make him look like a robot.
However, the Brazilian was also asked if wanted to change his nickname to ‘Robo-Obama’. It was all because of the resemblance he shares with the former POTUS Barack Obama, that a reporter put forth the question at UFC Vegas 60 post-fight press conference. But Rodrigues wasn’t a fan of the idea. He said, “Come on bro, I will jump on you here right now. Man, Obama is old. Obama is a nice president, but I’m handsome guys, come on.”
Now, let’s take a look at the UFC’s ‘Robocop’s origin story. While the comic book Cyborg had its origins based on a mishap in the line of duty and a scientific procedure, Rodrigues’ story began with his father. Let’s take a look at the Brazilian’s origin story, shall we?
How did Gregory Rodrigues start fighting?
According to UFC.com, the Brazilian middleweight prospect began training at the age of 5. And the man responsible for reeling him into the realm of martial arts was his father. He said, “I started training when I was five years old with my dad in capoeira. At eight years old I started training jiu-jitsu under Senseí Henrique Machado in Manaus, Brazil (He is Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza’s jiu-jitsu coach). I’ve always competed a lot in jiu-jitsu and I won many important titles in jiu-jitsu. I was an eight-time national jiu-jitsu champion, jiu-jitsu world champion, professional world champion in Abu Dhabi and I got second place in Pan-American wrestling. Since then, I never stopped training. In 2014, I moved to Rio de Janeiro to start my professional MMA career.”
Rodrigues started his professional fighting career in 2008 at the Brazilian National Championship (Grappling). And his MMA debut was under the banner of Jungle Fight in 2014. Well, ‘Robocop’ failed to secure a win in his debut, but went on to win his next bout and garner 16 wins and just 5 defeats in his professional MMA record. Isn’t his MMA story close to Marvel’s Robocop? After all, the cyborg cop failed to win against ‘The Old Man’ and Dr. Cray Z in his debut battles, but ended up defeating them in the final pages.
Now, ‘Robocop’ is set to test his powers against Jared Cannonier at UFC Vegas 102. With a 3-fight win streak, Rodrigues would certainly look for a win on 15 February at UFC Apex. But we’d have to wait till Saturday night to witness the robotic war between the two and find out who will rise victorious.
What are your thoughts on Rodrigues’ nickname? Would you have given him some other moniker? Drop down to the debate section below and keep the conversation flowing.
The post Gregory Rodrigues Nickname: Why Is He Called ‘Robocop’? appeared first on EssentiallySports.
