Video: Watch Nick Rodriguez Roll With Andrew and William Tackett
Nick Rodriguez is one of the fastest-rising talents the jiu-jitsu world has ever seen. After placing second place at the 2019 ADCC championships as a blue belt, Rodriguez has continued to compete and find success at the highest levels of the sport. Similarly, William Tackett and his younger brother Andrew are still very young in their high-level competitive careers, but are already feared grapplers with a number of accolades to their names.
Recently, Rodriguez found himself in Austin, TX, as a part of his seminar tour. While there, he stopped by Brazilian Fight Factory, home of the Tackett brothers, for some training. Watch video of Rodriguez rolling with Andrew and William Tackett below.
What’s interesting about the video above is we get to see Rodriguez, a phenomenal takedown artist and guard passer, intentionally working from his back. Even against the larger, older, William Tackett, Rodriguez regularly sits to an open guard position where he tries to use a knee shield to control the action. Of course, we also see Rodriguez doing what he does best: securing takedowns, passing the guard with a body lock pass, and taking the back.
Nick Rodriguez has appeared in just three matches this year. First, at Who’s Number One, he displayed phenomenal guard passing to defeat two-time ADCC champion Yuri Simoes by decision. Next, at Third Coast Grappling 6, Rodriguez defeated Pedro Marinho by decision before losing in the semifinals to Victor Hugo.
A 20-year old black belt representing Brazilian Fight Factory, William Tackett is one of the most promising young talents on the elite competition scene. He holds notable wins over Andrew Wiltse, John Combs, and Manuel Ribamar. He is coming off an injury loss to Leandro Lo at the BJJ Bet no-gi grand prix.
Finally, Andrew Tackett is an 18-year old purple belt that holds the Fight To Win brown belt title. He most recently competed at Who’s Number One where he lost a hard-fought decision to Mica Galvao.