Daniel Rodriguez told Joe Rogan that a post-fight trip to Tijuana turned into a Mexican jail stay after border officers found weed in his backpack, expanding on a story tied to his return from Tijuana jail and UFC comeback push.
The clip from Joe Rogan’s podcast shows Rodriguez discussing the arrest after his win over Kevin Holland. Rodriguez is a UFC welterweight and an American fighter of Mexican descent who has competed professionally since 2015. His professional record is listed at 20-5, with nine knockout wins, four submissions, and seven decisions. He has fought in the UFC, Bellator, King of the Cage, and Combate Americas.
Rodriguez said the night started in San Diego after the Holland fight, keeping Kevin Holland back in the conversation after his own history of headline-making UFC run-ins.
“Right after the Kevin Holland fight, actually, I was celebrating. I was over in San Diego,” Rodriguez told Rogan. “Had some drinks and decided, you know what, let’s go to TJ.”
He said the plan was simple before the border stop changed everything.
“Decided to go to TJ for the night, you know, go celebrate my win,” Rodriguez said. “I was obviously in celebration mode.”
Watch the Joe Rogan podcast clip below:
😲D Rod tells Joe Rogan about how he got caught at the Mexican border with weed and ended up going to jail for 8 months
via @joerogan pic.twitter.com/gWTreqadjY
— Dovy🔌 (@DovySimuMMA) June 2, 2026
Rodriguez Says Mexico’s Weed Laws Caught Him Off Guard
Rodriguez said he had crossed the border many times before without getting stopped, which made the arrest catch him off guard.
“I’ve been across the border a hundred times, bro,” Rodriguez said. “Never had no issues, never had no problems, never got stopped, pulled over.”
Rogan said he thought weed was legal in Mexico. Rodriguez said he had the same impression before learning otherwise.
“I thought so too,” Rodriguez said. “Apparently not, man. The laws are like crazy, crazy strict over there.”
Rodriguez said he had previously been in situations where money could get him out of trouble, but the border stop did not go that way.
“I’ve been in situations before where I could just offer some money and get out the situation,” Rodriguez said. “Like 500 bucks at the most, you know, and they’ll just let me on my way.”
The key moment came during the inspection.
“Got pulled over at the border and the border inspection found the weed in my backpack,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said he first thought the case might be resolved after a weekend in custody. That changed when he was told the timeline would be longer.
“They took me to jail that night,” Rodriguez said. “I was thinking, all right, I’m just gonna be here for the weekend. I’ll get out Monday, you know, go to court. And they’re like, no, I will see you in a month. I’m like, a month? You know, like, why? It’s just weed.”
Rodriguez previously confirmed he was out after an eight-month stretch in Tijuana jail and ready to resume his UFC career, a separate update that already framed the jail stay as part of his next welterweight comeback chapter. In the podcast clip, he describes the start of the ordeal, including the border inspection, the backpack search, and the moment he realized the case would not be handled over a weekend.
