Imanol Rodriguez Wants a Ranked Flyweight After Coria at UFC 332

Imanol Rodriguez has fought once in the UFC and he's already talking about the rankings. The unbeaten Mexican flyweight (7-0, six finishes) faces Alden Coria on the featured prelim at UFC 332 in Salt Lake City on October 3, and he says the man he'll walk out with next is just a stepping stone on the way up the 125-pound ladder.

The confidence isn't baseless. Rodriguez debuted back in February at UFC Mexico City, where he weathered early trouble against Kevin Borjas before turning the fight around for a second-round TKO and a Performance of the Night bonus. That win took him to 7-0 as a pro and flagged him as one of the more dangerous fresh faces in a loaded flyweight division.

He got here the hard way, too. Rodriguez knocked out his opponent in the first round on Dana White's Contender Series, then spent time on Season 33 of The Ultimate Fighter — a stint he credits with readying him for life inside the Octagon.

The DC Factor

On that TUF season he worked under former two-division champion Daniel Cormier, and Rodriguez doesn't hide how much it shaped him. He said Cormier was tough on him, got on him for good reason, and taught him lessons that went well beyond fighting — advice on money, family and life. Rodriguez described him as an ultimate professional who's spent his career helping others, and someone who still inspires him now that he's established.

Rodriguez says a lot has changed since February, mostly in the people around him, and that he feels more professional now. His read on the Borjas scare is simple: he's faced adversity before, and the answer was always to go back to the fundamentals, fix what went wrong, and become a better pro for it.

The Coria Problem

Coria is no gimme. The 16-fight veteran (13-3) has gone 3-0 since signing with the UFC in the summer of 2025, most recently beating Stewart Nicoll by decision. Rodriguez respects the résumé — he made a point of saying he respects every fighter in the promotion — but insists Coria has never shared a cage with someone who won't break. That, he reckons, is why oddsmakers and fans have him as the favorite.

As for the plan, Rodriguez kept it short: same formula as always, knock him out, finish him. He wants the win clean and wants to come out unscathed, because he's already eyeing a December return and a callout of someone in the top 15. Beat Coria convincingly and the math works in his favor — six of his seven career wins have come by knockout, and the man across from him has been finished three times already.