Pros react to Christian Rodriguez's upset of Rosas Jr. at UFC 287

‘Ego check’ – Pros react to Christian Rodriguez upsetting teenage prospect Raul Rosas Jr. at UFC 287 — April 8, 2023, Miami, FL, Miami, Florida, United States: MIAMI, FLORIDA - APRIL 8: Christian Rodriguez top punches Raul Rosas Jr. in their bantamweight fight during the UFC 287 event at Kaseya Center on April 8, 2023 in Miami, FL, United States. Miami, FL United States - ZUMAp175 20230408_zsa_p175_145 Copyright: xAlejandroxSalazarx

Christian Rodriguez handed Raul Rosas Jr. his first loss at UFC 287 this past Saturday.

Christian Rodriguez upsets Raul Rosas Jr. at UFC 287

The first round of the fight belonged to Rosas Jr., who got Rodriguez to the ground and started threatening with several submission attempts. ‘CeeRod’ stayed calm, defending them and avoiding any danger from ‘El Niño Problema’.

Though he lost the first five minutes, the next ten were in favor of Rodriguez, who stuffed Rosas’ takedowns and found himself in top position repeatedly. From there, the Roufusport representative would either deliver some heavy ground-and-pound or go for his own submission attempts. In the end, the judges’ scorecards saw the fight 2-1 for Rodriguez.

Pros react to performances from Rodriguez, Rosas Jr.

On Twitter, fighters reacted to the fight. Some praised Rodriguez for the performance, while others sent some nice (and not so nice) words to Rosas Jr. after his first loss as a professional.

Christian Rodriguez gets it done! 👊@ceerod97 hands Raul Rosas Jr. his first career loss at #UFC287! pic.twitter.com/cmV9CkbirH

— UFC (@ufc) April 9, 2023

Rosas, keep your head up kid. This game is a marathon, not a sprint. Let me know if you want to train again, without the cameras tho! #UFC287
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) April 9, 2023

Incredible effort by an 18 year old Raul Rosas Jr. Imagine being 18 and being on that stage. Lessons learned ad he’ll be back better next time.
— michael (@bisping) April 9, 2023

Raul Rosas is real deal. He will be back even stronger 🇲🇽✊.
— Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili (@MerabDvalishvil) April 9, 2023

Man @ceerod97 looked great. Withstood the initial barrage and then looked patient, dominant and so smooth in R2 and R3!
— Funky (@Benaskren) April 9, 2023

Ego check for sure. Very young and can really grow and come back way Better from this experience.

— Chris Weidman (@chrisweidman) April 9, 2023

Raul Rosas Jr about to get the Sage Northcut treatment.. This is why you don't sign kids to fight men.#UFC287
— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) April 9, 2023

Rosas is clearly talented but he literally fought like an 18 year old. The real question is how long do they let him develop and stay on the biggest stage #UFC287
— Zac Pauga (@ZacPauga) April 9, 2023

Rodriguez took Rosas from wading pool, to Ocean, and drowned him. Impressive. #UFC287
— Teddy Atlas (@TeddyAtlasReal) April 9, 2023

Rosas is talented but it was important for him to get that reality check now
— Augusto Tanquinho (@tanquinhojj) April 9, 2023

. @ceerod97 is the future of the UFC 135 division.

— Anthony Pettis (@Showtimepettis) April 9, 2023

Let’s gooo @ceerod97
— Kai Kamaka III (@kaiboikamaka) April 9, 2023

you will be back bro @RaulRosasJr8 , a lot of learning ahead! You’re welcome to my next training camp! You will be back stronger
— Muhammad Mokaev (@muhammadmokaev) April 9, 2023

Unfortunately he lost this time his beauty didn't save him .Anyway, I think he'll come back better. He/ very young n has a lot of time to compete or model and such .
2 shirts has gone . We have more 6 free giveaways https://t.co/nyKSOLp8Jf pic.twitter.com/yAwzVFJ4ig
— Paulo Costa ( Borrachinha ) (@BorrachinhaMMA) April 9, 2023

AFPod Parlay busted 😕 Rosas exposed big time. Looked spazzy and rushed out there. Rodriguez stayed more calm and well rounded skills was the difference.
— Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) April 9, 2023

What’s next for Rodriguez?

Following his win, Rodriguez said in his post-fight interview with UFC color commentator Joe Rogan that he would love to compete on the upcoming pay-per-view event at the end of International Fight Week, UFC 290.

“I’ve been training with the best team, Roufusport,“ said Rodriguez. “All my teammates back home, Scott Cushman [and] Duke Roufus. First things first, I just want to say I just stopped a good hype train, so I hope you guys can follow my journey. Team CeeRod. I want to fight on International Fight Week.“

He also addressed his weight miss, which was the second time he came in overweight during his current UFC stint. Rodriguez apologized, and explained that he needs to make some lifestyle changes to ensure that he comes in on weight for his next fight.

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About the author

Kristen King

Kristen King is a writer for Bloody Elbow. She has covered combat sports since 2016, getting her start with outlets such as FanSided, MyMMANews and MMA-Prospects. She joined the BE team in 2020, covering a mix of news, events and injuries. In her time with BE, Kristen has created ‘Fright of the Night,’ a series that highlights some of the worst injuries in the sport.