Jacob Rodriguez has an opponent for his return to competition: Vagner Rocha, booked for Karate Combat 62 on July 24th.
The two have never grappled each other directly, but their families carry a shared history on the mats.
Rocha previously faced Jacob’s heavier older brother, Nicky Rodriguez, in 2023, losing in EBI overtime.
A year later, Jacob met Vagner’s son, Achilles Rocha, in the opening round of ADCC 2024, winning by rear naked choke.
Even with the Rodriguez family holding an edge in the family series so far, this matchup looks like the most evenly contested yet.
Nicky had a major size advantage over Vagner, and while Jacob and Achilles were closer in build, Jacob had years of development on his side.
Against Vagner directly, there’s no size gap to lean on, and the experience gap now favors the other side – Vagner was already competing at ADCC while Jacob was still a child with just a few years of wrestling and no Jiu-Jitsu background at all.
Their ADCC resumes carry a surface-level similarity, with both men earning silver in 2024 at 88kg and 77kg respectively.
But for Jacob, that medal marked a first; for Vagner, it was just the latest in a career spanning over a decade, with two silvers and two bronzes across both weight classes.
Additionally, Rodriguez hasn’t fought in over 17 months, and unlike most athletes sidelined by injury, his absence stemmed from controversy, as he was removed from B-Team Jiu-Jitsu after admitting to having inappropriate content on his phone, including screenshots from a woman’s Instagram and explicit material, which he called invasive and unhealthy behavior.
He has since returned to the same gym following its rebrand to Simple Man Martial Arts, marking this fight as his comeback to top-level competition.
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