Nicholas Pete Rodriguez (born August 30, 1996)[2] is an American professional submission grappler and Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt,[a] commonly known as Nicky Rod.

After a failed attempt to qualify for the ADCCs, Rodriguez competed at the IBJJF World Championship in the blue belt division.

[14] As a blue belt, Rodriguez qualified for the 2019 ADCC World Championships after winning the North American trials.

[21] After his bronze medal finish at the KASAI Pro 7,[22] Rodriguez was scheduled to face 2019 US World Team Member Pat Downey at Third Coast Grappling IV in a special ruleset match on March 14.

[34] On December 30, 2021, Rodriguez competed against UFC veteran Steve Mowry at Fury Pro Grappling 3 and submitted him with a rear-naked choke at 5:30.

[35] Rodriguez faced Elder Cruz at Who's Number One: Jones v Marinho on January 21, 2022, and lost the match by split decision.

[37] Rodriguez competed in the over 99 kg division of ADCC 2022, defeating Damon Ramos on points and submitting John Hansen with a rear-naked choke on the first day.

On the second day he defeated Felipe Pena on points in the semi-final, but was submitted by Gordon Ryan in the final and came away with a silver medal.

[39] Rodriguez won the tournament by defeating Ezeqiual Zurita, Luke Griffith, Austin Baker, and Kyle Boehm in one night.

[41] However, Vinny Magalhães withdrew from the main event match against Gordon Ryan and Rodriguez agreed to step in to replace him instead.

[44] Rodriguez stepped in on two days' notice to replace Gordon Ryan against Felipe Pena in the main event of Who's Number One on February 25, 2023.

[50] Rodriguez was scheduled to compete against 3 competitors: Jake Lowry, Cody Gamble, and Zack Humbertson, in a series of matches at Sprawl in the Burgh 2 on October 20, 2023.

[61] Rodriguez submitted Max Gimenis, Owen Livesey, Adam Bradley, and Fellipe Andrew to win the tournament.

While it was initially reported that he been accepted to the promotion along with several other athletes who attended the tryouts,[65] WWE ultimately passed on signing Rodriguez.

[66] A former two-time state and regional champion in wrestling, he won the 2022 ADCC North American West Coast Trials in the -88 kg division.