Christian Rodriguez made the move up in weight on Saturday, squaring off with Isaac Dulgarian at UFC Vegas 88.
The main-card match-up found Dulgarian a perfect 6-0 to start the night, while Rodriguez has won his last three. Most recently, he’d earned a decision over Cameron Saaiman.
Dulgarian immediately exploded into a takedown and landed it off the opening bell, with Rodriguez on his back inside of twenty seconds. Dulgarian dropped a few punches to the side and eventually found himself in half-guard, trying to step over. Rodriguez tried to scramble but soon round himself contending with a number of chokes including a guillotine; Dulgarian would then take the back before transitioning back to top position.
Slick transitions continued until Dulgarian found himself on top with just over a minute left in the round, working on an arm-triangle choke. When he didn’t have it, Dulgarian wisely chose to hang onto the position, and eventually reclaimed back control, riding Rodriguez as he got to his feet. Regardless, a demoralizing five minutes for Christian Rodriguez to kick off his featherweight run.
Round two saw another early takedown from Dulgarian, with Rodriguez working his way to the fence and eventually making it back up. Only to be taken down again. Rodriguez was essentially ragdolled through the first half of the fight, and Dulgarian took him down again in impressive fashion, jumping on the back with two minutes to go in the second. Rodriguez made it back up, fired off a few strikes, then sprawled to fend off another takedown attempt.
Round three saw Isaac Dulgarian shooting desperately for a takedown, apparently having drained the tank. Rodriguez fired a few heavy shots, not connecting, but Dulgarian was on his knees. Rodriguez took the back, then transitioned to full mount. Three and a half minutes were left in the fight and Christian Rodriguez was fully in the driver’s seat. He worked to soften Dulgarian up, while Dulgarian fought the wrists (and was warned for grabbing the gloves).
Somehow, Dulgarian made it back to his feet, though he remained a mere shell of the fighter who dominated the first two rounds. Rodriguez connected with a right hand, a left late, and was picking his shots. A weak takedown by Dulgarian was easily stuffed, and Rodriguez looked for an Anaconda choke. With Rodriguez in need of a finish, however, barring a 10-8 round, Dulgarian was still going to come away with a decision. Luckily, the judges, two of them anyway, saw things that way, with 28-27 scores across the board, though one judge gave it to Dulgarian.
Official Result: Christian Rodriguez def. Isaac Dulgarian by split decision (28-27, 27-28, 28-27)
