The term “gatekeeper” usually has a bad connotation in combat sports.

To be one, it means regularly being on the cusp of greatness – but also regularly just short while someone else goes on to, in this case, a middleweight title. So to get to that point to begin with: Very, very good. But most fighters don’t want that label saddled on them.

And Brad Tavares (20-8 MMA, 15-8 UFC) no doubt would prefer to ditch the term, too. But if that’s the word you have to describe where he’s at right now in his UFC career, ahead of a fight against Gregory Rodrigues (14-5 MMA, 5-2 UFC), so be it.

“It is what it is. Yes: I look at the guys that I’ve fought and if they’ve gotten past me, boom, go on to be the champion. If somebody wants to say it in a negative way, then that’s on them. I don’t take it negatively,” Tavares said Wednesday at a media day for UFC Fight Night 236 (ESPN+), which goes down Saturday in Las Vegas.

Tavares lost to Robert Whittaker in 2015; Whittaker had gold around his waist five fights later. He lost to Israel Adesanya in 2018; Adesanya was a champ less than a year later. And in July 2022, he dropped a decision to current champ Dricus du Plessis.

So call him gatekeeper, but it means he’s right there – and regularly.

“I’m here fighting the best guys, and if they do make it past me, they’ve shown that they’ve gone on to become champions: Israel and Rob, Dricus – but all guys that I know on any given day, I can … I could still beat these guys. So that makes me excited, actually.”

This past August, Tavares got a much-needed win after a two-fight skid to du Plessis and Bruno Silva when he outworked former champion Chris Weidman at UFC 292. On paper, it’s arguably the biggest win of Tavares’ career.

The matchup with Rodrigues is a rebooking from a year ago, when Tavares pulled out with an injury. And though he said he didn’t care if it came back around, he sees a chance to stay in that gatekeeper lane with a win – and then the chance to push for more.

“I didn’t care (that we got rebooked), honestly,” Tavares said. “It was great to fight somebody like Chris Weidman, and honestly, if there had been another Chris Weidman-type fight out there, I would’ve loved that opportunity. But this is the fight that was presented, and it’s good to get it back and I guess settle the score. We were supposed to fight a year ago. It didn’t happen. Here we are a year later. I like the matchup. I think it’s a good matchup for me.”

Check out Tavares’ full interview in the video above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 236.