Bouncing back from a first round submission loss to Julian Erosa, Christian Rodriguez (12-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) recorded yet another victory over a highly-touted undefeated prospect in Austin Bashi at UFC Fight Night 249. Going into the fight, the then 13-0 Bashi was a considerable favorite following a successful appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series last September, where he choked out Dorian Ramos.
Christian Rodriguez Builds Up Wins Despite Coming in Heavy on Scales
Originally residing in the UFC’s bantamweight class, Rodriguez came up short in his promotional debut against Jonathan Pearce. The Bellator and Legacy Fighting Alliance veteran then went on to win his next three outings in the division in a row, besting the likes of Joshua Weems, surging Mexican star Raul Rosas Jr., and Cameron Saaiman. However, throughout this period of success, Rodriguez failed to make weight two times, coming in over the weight limit in his tilts with Rosas Jr. and Saaiman, including weighing in at 140 lbs for his match with the South African.
While these failures on the scale haunted his time in the 135-lb class, Rodriguez also began to gain a bunch of notoriety for his odd proficiency with dispatching undefeated fighters, proven with his victories over the aforementioned Rosas Jr. and Saaiman. Before they lost their zeros, both men were considered a pair of top prospects at bantamweight, with Rodriguez stealing all of their hype and mystique by defeating them both by unanimous decision.
Move Up to Featherweight Yields to Setbacks, Triumphs for Christian Rodriguez
Following his contest with Saaiman, Christian Rodriguez made the trip out to the UFC Performance Institute, where, upon a physical assessment, came to realize that the cut to 135-lb was hindering his body too much. It was then that the Institute’s staff recommended a change in weight class, which he obliged by moving up to featherweight for the first time in over four years.
His first opponent in his new division wouldn’t be an easy one, as he drew the undefeated Isaac Dulgarian. Possessing a one hundred percent finishing rate across his amateur and professional career, Dulgarian had made easy work of his debut adversary in Francis Marshall, stopping him with ground-and-pound in a single round.
While the amazing grappling ability of “The Midwest Choppa” did give Rodriguez trouble, the superior striking of the former bantamweight made the fight extremely competitive. By the end, Rodriguez scraped by with the skin of his teeth with a controversial split decision, notching his first win at featherweight in the UFC.
Christian Rodriguez Bests Julian Erosa in Second Bout at Featherweight
Picking up a win in his freshman appearance as a 145-lber, Rodriguez collected yet another undefeated athlete’s zero, adding even more to his mythos of being the bane of all unbeaten talent. In his second match at featherweight, however, he went up against a tried-and-true veteran with exactly 40 fights under his belt, Julian Erosa. The experience gap proved to be too great for Rodriguez, who found himself being submitted in round one with a guillotine, ending his four-fight win streak.
Christian Rodriguez Kicks Off 2025 in Big Way
Going into the new year on the first UFC card of 2025, Christian Rodriguez stood opposite his fourth undefeated opponent in the promotion, Austin Bashi. Coming up from the regional scene, the 23-year old phenom was a reputable finisher, with seven of his then 12 victories ending in stoppage. He also won the Legends of Combat Bantamweight Championship and defended it twice, both times by submission. He then went on to score a second round submission over Dorian Ramos in a contract-winning performance on Dana White’s Contender Series last year.
Although Bashi was a two-to-one favorite with the oddsmakers, Christian Rodriguez started off the bout by pummeling his younger foe with several hard shots in round one, making it crystal clear that he was the better striker of the duo. In the second round, though, not wanting to trade with Rodriguez, Bashi, instead, used his wrestling to control the pace of the fight, including locking in a standing body triangle for almost a minute.
By the third stanza, the scores were all even across the board, but as the final round played out, it was Rodriguez who began to pull away by out landing Bashi and denying most of his takedowns. Standing mostly unscathed by the time the horn sounded, he had managed to swat away another undefeated prospect by unanimous decision, making him a current top up-and-coming name in the division.
