Tag: Christian Rodriguez

Former Champion Describes Featherweight As ‘Future Of The Division’ After UFC Vegas 101 Win

One of the biggest winners from this past weekend’s UFC Vegas 101 event is being tipped for greatness by a former champion. Among the top talking points to emerge from the UFC’s very first event of 2025 was the performance of featherweight Christian Rodriguez, who further enhanced his reputation as a prospect killer by defeating […]

One of the biggest winners from this past weekend’s UFC Vegas 101 event is being tipped for greatness by a former champion.

Among the top talking points to emerge from the UFC’s very first event of 2025 was the performance of featherweight Christian Rodriguez, who further enhanced his reputation as a prospect killer by defeating the previously undefeated Austin Bashi.

The UFC Vegas 101 result means that all of Rodriguez’s last four wins saw him take an up-and-comer’s ‘O’, with Raul Rosas Jr., Cameron Saaiman, and Isaac Dulgarian also being ousted from the ranks of the unbeaten by “CeeRod.”

With weight issues leading to the end of his bantamweight stint, Rodriguez looks to have found a home at 145 pounds. And a prominent teammate of his, for one, is predicting big things for the 27-year-old.

“Another 0 collected. Christian Rodriguez is the future of the 145 division,” former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis wrote on X in reaction to Rodriguez’s UFC Vegas 101 triumph.

Like Pettis, Rodriguez is part of the team over at Roufusport MMA Academy, where he trains under the guidance of Duke Roufus in Milwaukee.

The renowned coach will be hoping to guide “CeeRod” to the success “Showtime” found on MMA’s biggest stage when he submitted Benson Henderson back at UFC 164 in 2013.

‘Prospect Killer’ Christian Rodriguez Spoils Austin Bashi’s Octagon Debut – UFC Vegas 101 Highlights

Christian Rodriguez Spoils Austin Bashi's Octagon Debut - UFC Vegas 101 HighlightsAustin Bashi suffered the first loss of his mixed martial arts career at UFC Vegas 101 against ‘Prospect Killer’…

Christian Rodriguez Spoils Austin Bashi's Octagon Debut - UFC Vegas 101 Highlights

Austin Bashi suffered the first loss of his mixed martial arts career at UFC Vegas 101 against ‘Prospect Killer’ Christian Rodriguez.

After making a statement on Dana White’s Contender Series in September, Bashi was ready to show up and show out in his highly anticipated UFC debut. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be after Bashi largely failed to gain the upper hand on the mat where he usually dominates his competition.

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Bashi briefly found himself in some trouble early on as Rodriguez appeared to lock in a standing guillotine against the fence. Rodriguez squeezed tight, but he couldn’t quite get the angle. That allowed Bashi to eventually fight out of it. Rodriguez however did land a nice knee on the break.

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In the end, it was Rodriguez’s heavy-hitting and impeccable wrestling defense that earned him a unanimous decision, moving him to 5-2 inside the Octagon and 12-2 overall.

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Official Result: Christian Rodriguez def. Austin Bashi via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

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For those who don’t recall, Rodriguez also handed teen phenom Raul Rosas Jr. the first loss of his MMA career at UFC 287 in 2023.

Check out highlights from Austin Bashi vs. Christian Rodriguez at UFC Vegas 101:

Christian Rodriguez hands uber-Prospect Raul Rosas Jr. one-Sided defeat in decision upset – UFC 287 Highlights

Raul Rosas Jr. suffers defeat Christian Rodriguez upset win UFC 287 HighlightsChristian Rodriguez upsets Raul Rosas Jr at UFC 287 The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to us tonight, April 8, 2023, for UFC 287, going down live from the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. Headlining the event is a middleweight championship bout showcasing newly crowned champion Alex Pereira and former champion Israel Adesanya, an immediate rematch […]

Raul Rosas Jr. suffers defeat Christian Rodriguez upset win UFC 287 Highlights

Christian Rodriguez upsets Raul Rosas Jr at UFC 287

The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to us tonight, April 8, 2023, for UFC 287, going down live from the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.

Headlining the event is a middleweight championship bout showcasing newly crowned champion Alex Pereira and former champion Israel Adesanya, an immediate rematch from their UFC 281 clash back in November of last year.

Co-headlining is a welterweight bout between a pair of former title challengers in Gilbert Burns and Jorge Masvidal.

Then opening up the main card tonight at UFC 287 was a bantamweight encounter between 18-year-old stud Raul Rosas Jr and Christian Rodriguez.

Rosas came into the bout with a perfect record of 7-0 (1 knockout, 5 submissions), having gone 1-0 thus far into his short UFC tenure. Rodriguez on the other hand came in with a record of 8-1 (3 knockout, 4 submission), having gone 1-1 thus far in the promotion.

Continue reading to see how this 135 lb affair went down:

Rosas came out guns blazing in round one, attempting takedown after takedown once the bout begins. On his fourth attempt, Rosas gets Rodriguez to the mat and he’s right into side control. However, he gets into position to go for a guillotine choke and goes for it, ending up on his back.

Rosas doesn’t accept bottom position though and they’re back to their feet, where Rosas eventually jumps onto Rodriguez’ back and searches for the rear naked choke finish during the final two minutes of the opening stretch.

Round two was a much, much different story, as Rodriguez began to break Rosas, who expended an absurd amount of energy through the first five minutes. Rodriguez is able to stuff Rosas’ takedown attempts and ends up on top, where he spends most of his time on Rosas’ back, as well as in mount.

Round three was quite similar to round two, though Rosas didn’t shoot on a takedown immediately when the round began. Instead, he tried to strike with Rodriguez, but was getting boxed up badly so he was forced to shoot, where he ended up on bottom again with Rodriguez reigning down vicious punches and elbows onto him.

Christian Rodriguez def. Raul Rosas Jr via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

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Report – 18 year old Raul Rosas Jr. books UFC 287 fight against Christian Rodriguez on April 8.

Raul Rosas Jr. UFC 287Undefeated UFC bantamweight prospect, 18-year-old, Raul Rosas Jr. is set for his next Octagon walk following a successful bow in the promotion last year – booking an outing at UFC 287 on April 8. against Christian Rodriguez. At the time of publication, an official location or venue for the event has yet to be determined […]

Raul Rosas Jr. UFC 287

Undefeated UFC bantamweight prospect, 18-year-old, Raul Rosas Jr. is set for his next Octagon walk following a successful bow in the promotion last year – booking an outing at UFC 287 on April 8. against Christian Rodriguez. At the time of publication, an official location or venue for the event has yet to be determined by the organization.

Rosas Jr., who boasts an undefeated 7-0 professional record, made his Octagon debut last month at UFC 282 against promotional alum, Jay Perrin, securing a dominant opening round rear-naked choke win.

For Rodriguez, the two-fight UFC veteran will attempt to land his second victory under the organizational banner, having recently scored an anaconda choke win over Joshua Weems back in October of last year. Eurosport reporter, Marcel Dorff was first to report the news of Raul Rosas Jr.’s return against Christian Rodriguez on April 8.

“Raul Rosas Jr. takes on Christian Rodriguez at #UFC287 on April 8th,” Marcel Dorff tweeted. 

Touted as one of the biggest and brightest prospects in the sport today, Rosas Jr. earned his contract with the promotion off the back of a successful outing on Dana White’s Contender Series back in August of last year against Mando Gutierrez, scoring a unanimous decision victory at the UFC Apex facility event. 

Raul Rosas Jr. is touted as a renowned finishing talent

A slick Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist, Rosas Jr. holds five total career victories via submission, to go with another knockout victory. 

Rosas Jr.’s expected Octagon return at UFC 287 in April marks a busy opening quarter for fighters from Mexico – with a trio of compatriots slated to compete for UFC gold in the opening quarter of 2023.

Next month, featherweight striker, Yair Rodriguez returns in an interim title fight against Josh Emmett at UFC 284 in Australia.

As part of an expected championship tripleheader at UFC 285 on March 4. – Sinaloa native, Irene Aldana is set to fight bantamweight champion, Amanda Nunes in an undisputed title fight, while fellow Lobo Gym mainstay, Alexa Grasso books her first championship outing in the UFC in the form of a flyweight title clash opposite the dominant, Valentina Shevchenko.

At the time of publication, an official headliner for UFC 287 has yet to be determined by the organization.

UFC Vegas 63 Performance Bonus Winners

UFC Vegas 63 was a fairly low-profile event on paper, and although it did feature a few back-and-forth contests there wasn’t much that jumped out as a possible Fight of the Night candidate. The main event between Arnold Allen and Calvin Kattar lo…

UFC Vegas 63 was a fairly low-profile event on paper, and although it did feature a few back-and-forth contests there wasn’t much that jumped out as a possible Fight of the Night candidate. The main event between Arnold Allen and Calvin Kattar looked to be shaping up as the best fight of the evening, but…

Continue Reading UFC Vegas 63 Performance Bonus Winners at MMA News.

Highlights: Christian Rodriguez Taps Jose Leon After Dynamite First Round From Bellator 221

We have another big submission finish to pass along from the Bellator 221 preliminary card from Illinois. Christian Rodriguez and Jose Leon met inside the cage in featherweight action. The bout was both Rodriguez and Leon’s professional mixed mar…

We have another big submission finish to pass along from the Bellator 221 preliminary card from Illinois. Christian Rodriguez and Jose Leon met inside the cage in featherweight action. The bout was both Rodriguez and Leon’s professional mixed martial arts (MMA) debut. Both men put on a show in the opening minutes, however, it was […]

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