Isaac Dulgarian (6-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is gearing up to fight Christian Rodriguez (10-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on March 16.
Dulgarian said Rodriguez is a “tough fighter” who’s good everywhere and doesn’t have a lot of holes in his game.
“But I feel like I’m better in all the positions he’s good at,” Dulgarian told MMASucka. “You haven’t seen a lot of my striking, but I think it’s something that’s going to get drawn out this fight. I think in the grappling realm, he just hasn’t felt pressure like mine. I think the closest fight he’s had to a grappler is [Jonathan Pearce]. JSP is more of a backtaker/catch-wrestler and I’m more of an MMA grappler.”
Pearce handed Rodriguez the lone loss of his career to date. Rodriguez has since rattled off three straight wins over Joshua Weems, highly-touted bantamweight prospect Raul Rosas Jr. and another top prospect in Cameron Saiiman. After missing the bantamweight limit twice in a row, however, Rodriguez is moving back up to featherweight to take on Dulgarian, who burst onto the UFC scene with a ground and pound win over Francis Marshall.
Dulgarian said Rodriguez is “possibly” the toughest test of his MMA career yet.
“I think Francis [Marshall] was better technically on the ground, honestly, but Christian is very composed and calm in a lot of bad positions he finds himself in,” Dulgarian said. “That’s a difference there. I think Francis is a bigger body and stronger overall, but I think Christian is more well-rounded.”
Both featherweights are prospects looking to make a name for themselves. Dulgarian, just 27, has a long career ahead of him, but believes a win over Rodriguez would be a “big deal” for his future.
“My main thing is, I don’t want this fight to go to a boring decision regardless of how it goes,” he said. “I want it to be action-packed and kind of show my worth in the division. I don’t really care what they have to say. I’ve just got to go out there and perform, show I’m an A+ fighter, and the rest will take care of itself.”
Both men are used to being underdogs, but Dulgarian said it doesn’t really matter one way or the other. He enters this fight as a slight favorite on the betting line but the public on Tapology favors Rodriguez.
“At the end of the day, we’re getting in a fistfight,” Dulgarian said. “A lot of things can happen in a fistfight. You see dogs win all the time and you see them get beat up all the time. It doesn’t really bother me either way. I think it’s cool I’m a favorite, but it’s not great for all my fans who like to make money off a bet.”
Dulgarian said he feels he can finish Rodriguez with a submission or ground and pound.
“I think he’s gonna be tougher than Francis. I think it might go more than one round. I’m going to look for an early finish, and if it doesn’t happen, I’m going to keep pounding until I get one.”
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