Gregory Rodrigues denies cheating, admits possible glove grab at UFC Sacramento

Gregory Rodrigues extended his UFC winning streak to four with a decision victory over Anthony Hernandez at UFC Sacramento, but the Brazilian faced accusations of illegal glove-grabbing during their main-event clash. Rodrigues has now responded to Hernandez's post-fight claims.

Hernandez, known as "Fluffy," alleged that Rodrigues repeatedly grabbed the inside of his gloves during wrestling exchanges and that he complained to referee Herb Dean throughout the fight without result. Rodrigues inflicted heavy calf-kick damage on Hernandez's lead leg while also defending takedowns effectively.

Rodrigues flatly denied cheating, arguing that if such blatant infractions had occurred, referee Dean would have intervened and viewers would see it on broadcast footage. He acknowledged that his hands may have unintentionally made contact with Hernandez's gloves but insisted such incidental contact changed nothing about the outcome.

"The fact is that I beat him with the leg kicks," Rodrigues told Ariel Helwani. "I punched him. He didn't take me down. He didn't do nothing. He put a pressure that was good, but I didn't cheat him; he knows that. Sometimes, involuntary, my hands grab his gloves, but it was nothing that would change the result of the fight."

Rodrigues showed respect for Hernandez's warrior mentality while maintaining his version of events, suggesting the loss came from his superior striking and grappling defense rather than rule violations.