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It was a good night at the office for Christian Rodriguez, who put a halt to Raul Rosas Jr.'s undefeated run at UFC 287. While several UFC fighters supported Rosas Jr. to bounce back from the loss, others took it as an opportunity to mock the young contender.
Rosas Jr. launched an aggressive takedown attempt as soon as the fight began, attempting to take the fight to his desired terrain. Rodriguez kept his cool and showcased excellent takedown defense. The 18-year-old ended up getting a takedown but couldn't capitalize on it. Rosas Jr. remained persistent in his pursuit of the finish and managed to get on Rodriguez's back. The American, however, was successful in defending the submission attempts.
Rodriguez's corner advised him to pick up the pace in the second round since Rosas Jr. had depleted much of his gas tank during the initial onslaught. The assessment proved to be correct, as 'CeeRod' appeared to be the fresher fighter in the second frame. He got on Rosas Jr.'s back several times and threatened him with his own submission attempts.
'El Nino Problema' was visibly exhausted entering the third round, whereas Rodriguez's composure and experience impressed the UFC broadcast booth. UFC color commentator Joe Rogan noted that this will serve as a learning experience for Rosas Jr., who is hoping to become the youngest champion in the organization's history.
In the end, all three judges scored the fight 29-28 unanimously in favor of Christian Rodriguez, who extended his record to 9-1.
Several fighters took to Twitter to react to Rosas Jr.'s loss. Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman wrote that this fight would serve as a good ego check for the DWCS graduate:
"Ego check for sure. Very young and can really grow and come back way Better from this experience."
Henry Cejudo wrote:
"This is what happens when you only have one style of fighting. I can’t wait to expose this one trick pony! #andnew"
Elsewhere, Sean Strickland poked fun at Rosas Jr. and wrote:
"Raul Rosas Jr. is about to get the Sage Northcut treatment.. This is why you don't sign kids to fight men. #UFC287."
Check out some of the tweets below:
UFC 287 results: Raul Rosas Jr. issues statement following his first career loss to Christian Rodriguez
Last year, Raul Rosas Jr. became the youngest fighter on the UFC roster after graduating from Dana White's Contender Series (DWCS).
The loss against Christian Rodriguez at UFC 287 will serve as a valuable learning experience for the 18-year-old, who still has a long way to go in the sport.
The young Mexican bantamweight contender took to Instagram to issue a statement following his first career loss. He wrote:
"My bad bros. I didn't have the energy to do what I know or even try. Things happen for a reason and only God knows. My opponent was better tonight. Thank you guys."
Check out the Instagram story below:
