Tag: Christian Rodriguez

Brady Hiestand calls out Christian Rodriguez, wants to steal hype he took from Raul Rosas

Brady Hiestand wants a fight with Christian Rodriguez, the man who defeated Raul Rosas.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Brady Hiestand[/autotag] knows exactly what he wants next.

The UFC bantamweight is targeting a fight with [autotag]Christian Rodriguez[/autotag] following his latest win in the octagon, as he wants to steal the hype that Rodriguez took from then-unbeaten sensation Raul Rosas earlier this month at UFC 287.

Hiestand (8-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) called out Rodriguez after his TKO win over Danaa Batgerel (12-5 MMA, 3-4 UFC) at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 222 in Las Vegas.

“I saw his fight against Raul Rosas, and I wasn’t super impressed with anything he did,” Hiestand told reporters at the UFC Fight Night 222 post-fight press conference. “I thought he was good, well-rounded, but I like that matchup. We’re both young. He’s what, 25, 26? We both have a lot of growing to do, and I want to take some of his hype that he took from Rosas. So, I want to fight that dude.”

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Hiestand likes Rosas and believes he’ll bounce back from the decision loss to Rodriguez. He just found Rosas’ inexperience to be the determining factor in the fight.

“I got a lot of respect from that kid,” Hiestand said. “We’re very similar in the fact that we’re heavy into grappling. I think he’s got great skills, he was just inexperienced. He’s just young. He blew his load in the first round and got too excited, spammed the double leg. But yeah, I got nothing but respect for that kid.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 222.

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UFC 287 winner Christian Rodriguez plays it cool after derailing Raul Rosas Jr. hype train

While Raul Rosas Jr. got all the attention and may be the more talented fighter, Christian Rodriguez said his experience won out at UFC 287.

MIAMI – To most observers, [autotag]Christian Rodriguez[/autotag] was an afterthought heading into UFC 287 as it felt more like he was an invited guest to 18-year-old [autotag]Raul Rosas Jr.[/autotag]’s coming out party.

And Rodriguez was OK with that.

“I’ve been underdog my whole entire life,” Rodriguez told MMA Junkie and other reporters Saturday night after his win at Kaseya Center. “… I’m used to it. I’m used to always being overlooked, being the underdog in certain situations. For myself, I always have something to prove. Tonight was one of those days I knew I had something to prove.”

Rosas, who’s been heavily hyped since he signed a UFC contract through Dana White’s Contender Series while he was still 17, was the reason for the fight getting placed as the pay-per-view opener. Rosas (7-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) had a strong showing in Round 1 as he immediately shot for a takedown and worked hard to secure it, leading to a near-finish of Rodriguez (9-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) with a submission attempt.

That’s where Rosas’ momentum ended as he seemingly gassed out after the first 5 minutes and was largely dominated in the grappling department in Rounds 2 and 3. In the end, the judges awarded Rodriguez a unanimous decision.

While Rosas may have been stronger and may have even possessed more talent, Rodriguez, 25, said it was his experience that won out.

“Me and him have a similar amount of fights, but I’ve been training with world champions my whole entire life,” Rodriguez said. “My coach is a world champion. Mark Choinski, he’s an All-American wrestler. So I’m used to world champion material. I know how to pace myself for the whole entire fight. I know I can’t just expect to get in a fight and steamboat over them. That’s not how it works.”

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Now with a big win that derailed the hype train of a young prospect, Rodriguez is content to just enjoy the ride and not make any callouts.

“I’ll ride with the hype right now,” Rodriguez said. “I’m not gonna call out any names right now. I’ll just live day by day.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 287.

UFC 287 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Second-highest total of 2023

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 287 took home the second-highest UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payout of the year thus far.

MIAMI – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 287 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $274,500.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC 287 took place at Kaseya Center. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

The full UFC 287 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag]: $32,000
def. [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag]: $42,000

[autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Rob Font[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Adrian Yanez[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Kevin Holland[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Santiago Ponzinibbio[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Christian Rodriguez[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Raul Rosas Jr.[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Kelvin Gastelum[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Chris Curtis[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Luana Pinheiro[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Michelle Waterson-Gomez[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Joe Pyfer[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Gerald Meerschaert[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Loopy Godinez[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Cynthia Calvillo[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Ignacio Bahamondes[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Trey Ogden[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Steve Garcia[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Shayilan Nuerdanbieke[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Sam Hughes[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jaqueline Amorim[/autotag]: $4,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $2,045,500
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $16,564,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 287.

UFC 287 results: Christian Rodriguez scores upset, becomes first to defeat Raul Rosas Jr.

“He looks like a kid getting beat up by a man right now,” UFC 287 commentator Daniel Cormier said as he watched Christian Rodriguez defeat Raul Rosas Jr.

[autotag]Christian Rodriguez[/autotag] didn’t receive as much attention as his opponent Raul Rosas Jr. prior to UFC 287, but in the end, he captured what was most important.

In the UFC 287 main card opener Saturday at Kaseya Center in Miami, Rodriguez (9-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) defeated [autotag]Raul Rosas Jr.[/autotag] via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

The first round was not easy for Rodriguez as it was nearly the last. At multiple points in the opening minutes, Rosas Jr. (7-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) smothered and nearly submitted Rodriguez with submission attempts, particularly a standing rear-naked choke.

Rodriguez survived the round, however, and that’s when things turned in his direction. Rosas Jr. was noticeably slowed, mouth open as he breathed heavily. The tides slowly turned as Rodriguez began to win more of the exchanges, particularly in the grappling.

In the final 10 minutes, Rodriguez used his heavy wrestling and grappling to attempt submissions of his own. Hard ground-and-pound from mount in Round 3 was perhaps the most damaging offense for either fighter in the bout. The fight ended with Rodriguez on top, the victor by the three judges and even Rosas Jr. who acknowledged a likely defeat prior to the official scorecard reading.

Rodriguez, 25, apologized after the bout for his weight miss Friday when he tipped the scales one pound over the bantamweight limit. Rodriguez wins for the second time in his three-fight UFC tenure. The win comes on the heels of his first UFC victory, a submission win over Joshua Weems at UFC Fight Night 213 in October.

Rosas Jr., 18, loses for the first time as an MMA fighter. In 2022, Rosas Jr. became the youngest fighter in the promotion’s history when he signed after a win on “Dana White’s Contender Series” at age 17. In order to compete on the series, Rosas Jr.’s parents were required to fill out and sign a special waiver. Rosas Jr. made his promotional debut at UFC 282 in December when he made quick work of Jay Perrin with a sub-three-minute submission.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 287 results include:

Christian Rodriguez def. Raul Rosas Jr. at UFC 287: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Christian Rodriguez’s unanimous decision win over Raul Rosas Jr. at UFC 287 in Miami.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Christian Rodriguez[/autotag]’s unanimous decision win over [autotag]Raul Rosas Jr.[/autotag] at UFC 287 at Kaseya Center in Miami. (Photos by Rich Storry, USA TODAY Sports)

UFC 287 video: Hear from each winner, guest fighters backstage

Check out what the UFC 287 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event.

MIAMI – UFC 287 took place Saturday with 13 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner and guest fighter interviews from Kaseya Center in Miami.

You can hear from all the UFC 287 winners and more by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.

UFC 287 predictions: Who’s picking Israel Adesanya to get title back from Alex Pereira?

Check out our staff members’ UFC 287 main card picks, featuring Alex Pereira vs. Israel Adesanya 2 and Gilbert Burns vs. Jorge Masvidal.

Pereira
vs.
Adesanya		 Burns
vs.
Masvidal		 Font
vs.
Yanez		 Holland
vs.
Ponzinibbio		 Rodriguez
vs.
Rosas
MMA Junkie readers’
consensus picks
41-28		 pereira2023
Pereira
(61%)		 burns2023
Burns
(80%)		 yanez2023
Yanez
(67%)		 holland2023
Holland
(70%)		 rosas2023
Rosas
(84%)
George Garcia
@MMAjunkieGeorge
44-25		 adesanya2023
Adesanya		 masvidal2023
Masvidal		 yanez2023
Yanez		 holland2023
Holland		 rosas2023
Rosas
Matt Erickson
@MattE
43-26		 adesanya2023
Adesanya		 burns2023
Burns		 yanez2023
Yanez		 ponzinibbio2023
Ponzinibbio		 rosas2023
Rosas
Simon Samano
@SJSamano
42-27		 pereira2023
Pereira		 burns2023
Burns		 yanez2023
Yanez		 holland2023
Holland		 rosas2023
Rosas
Nolan King
@mma_kings
42-27/em>		 adesanya2023
Adesanya		 burns2023
Burns		 yanez2023
Yanez		 holland2023
Holland		 rosas2023
Rosas
Matthew Wells
@MrMWells
40-29		 adesanya2023
Adesanya		 burns2023
Burns		 yanez2023
Yanez		 holland2023
Holland		 rosas2023
Rosas
Abbey Subhan
@kammakaze
40-29		 adesanya2023
Adesanya		 burns2023
Burns		 yanez2023
Yanez		 ponzinibbio2023
Ponzinibbio		 rosas2023
Rosas
Brian Garcia
@thegoze
39-30
trophy copy 2017 Champion		 adesanya2023
Adesanya		 masvidal2023
Masvidal		 yanez2023
Yanez		 holland2023
Holland		 rosas2023
Rosas
Ken Hathaway
@kenshathaway
39-30
trophy copy 2018, 2022 Champion		 pereira2023
Pereira		 burns2023
Burns		 yanez2023
Yanez		 holland2023
Holland		 rosas2023
Rosas
Mike Bohn
@MikeBohn
38-31
trophy copy 2014 Champion		 adesanya2023
Adesanya		 burns2023
Burns		 yanez2023
Yanez		 holland2023
Holland		 rosas2023
Rosas
Farah Hannoun
@Farah_Hannoun
38-31		 adesanya2023
Adesanya		 burns2023
Burns		 yanez2023
Yanez		 holland2023
Holland		 rosas2023
Rosas
Danny Segura
@dannyseguratv
36-33		 adesanya2023
Adesanya		 burns2023
Burns		 font2023
Font		 ponzinibbio2023
Ponzinibbio		 rosas2023
Rosas

The UFC is back in Miami for the first time in a long time, and a middleweight title rematch tops the card.

UFC 287 takes place Saturday at Kaseya Center in Miami. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

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In the main event, middleweight champion [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] (7-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) puts his title on the line for the first time against former champ [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] (23-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC), whom he beat to win the belt this past November. Pereira also holds two kickboxing wins over Adesanya.

Despite that, Pereira is the underdog at the betting window with Adesanya around a -150 favorite. The vast majority of our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers are picking Adesanaya to get the belt back at a rate of 9-2.

In the co-feature, [autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag] (21-5 MMA, 14-5 UFC) takes on [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag] (35-16 MMA, 12-9 UFC) at welterweight. Both fighters hope a win will make them a candidate to leapfrog Colby Covington as the next challenger for champ Leon Edwards. Burns is the biggest favorite on entire card, by far, at 5-1. Only two of our pickers have Masvidal in an upset.

Also on the main card, [autotag]Adrian Yanez[/autotag] (16-3 MMA, 5-0 UFC) is a near 2-1 favorite against [autotag]Rob Font[/autotag] (19-6 MMA, 9-5 UFC) at bantamweight, and he’s a near unanimous pick from our staff members at 10-1.

[autotag]Kevin Holland[/autotag] (23-9 MMA, 10-6 UFC) meets [autotag]Santiago Ponzinibbio[/autotag] (29-6 MMA, 11-5 UFC) in a potential middleweight slugfest. Holland is around a -250 betting favorite, and he has a big 8-3 picks lead.

And to open the main card, [autotag]Christian Rodriguez[/autotag] (8-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) takes on [autotag]Raul Rosas Jr.[/autotag] (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) at a 137-pound catchweight (Rodriguez missed the bantamweight limit on the scale). Rosas is more than a 2-1 favorite, and he’s the lone unanimous pick on the main card.

In the MMA Junkie consensus picks, Pereira (61 percent), Burns (80 percent), Yanez (67 percent), Holland (70 percent) and Rosas (84 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 287.

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Christian Rodriguez: 18-year-old Raul Rosas Jr.’s ‘hype benefits me once I stop it’

Christian Rodriguez is looking to steal the highly touted Raul Rosas Jr.’s shine at UFC 287.

MIAMI – [autotag]Christian Rodriguez[/autotag] is looking to steal the highly touted [autotag]Raul Rosas Jr.[/autotag]’s shine at UFC 287.

Rodriguez (8-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) faces Rosas Jr. (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) on Saturday’s main card opener at Kaseya Arena. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.

Rodriguez will be taking on 18-year-old phenom Rosas Jr., who became the youngest UFC fighter when he finished Jay Perrin by first-round submission in his octagon debut in December. Rodriguez is aware of all the hype surrounding Rosas Jr. – and he looks to capitalize on it.

“I feel like I’ll probably be the underdog in this fight,” Rodriguez told reporters, including MMA Junkie, during Wednesday’s UFC 287 media day. “I do know he has a lot of hype, but I don’t mind the hype. I think it benefits me once I stop it.

“I like the matchup. I don’t think the UFC does any favors. I don’t think the UFC is the kind of place that tries to build people up. I think what the UFC does is, they put two prospects who are really good and they see whoever wants it more.”

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Rodriguez rates Rosas Jr.’s skills highly, but thinks he’s lacking in the striking department in comparison to him.

“He’s a very, very good grappler, but I feel that’s all he brings to the table,” Rodriguez said. “But I do respect his skillset. I do respect how good his grappling is. It’s not like I’m overlooking him or anything like that, but I do respect his skillset and his team.”

He continued, “He has good striking, but I think more of his game is striking to set up his grappling. So, I do feel like I’m more confident in my striking than his.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 287.

Video: UFC 287 pre-fight press conference replay

Check out a live stream of the UFC 287 pre-fight press conference ahead of the pay-per-view event in Miami.

MIAMI – UFC 287 takes place Saturday at Kaseya Center, and you can watch a live video stream of the pre-event news conference here on MMA Junkie at 5 p.m. ET.

Participating in the press conference will be main event fighters [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] and [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] and co-main competitors [autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag] and [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag]. Also taking part will be main-card fighters [autotag]Rob Font[/autotag], [autotag]Adrian Yanez[/autotag], [autotag]Kevin Holland[/autotag], [autotag]Santiago Ponzinibbio[/autotag], [autotag]Raul Rosas Jr.[/autotag], and [autotag]Christian Rodriguez[/autotag].

You can watch the press conference in the video above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 287.

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Video: ‘UFC 287: Pereira vs. Adesanya 2’ media day live stream

Before UFC 287 on Saturday’s main card and prelim fighters are scheduled to speak to reporters at media day.

MIAMI – A numbered UFC event returns to Miami on Saturday for the first time in more than 20 years with UFC 287, which takes place at Kaseya Arena with a main card that airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

Before fight night arrives, though, notable athletes from the card spoke to reporters Wednesday at media day, and MMA Junkie was on-site for it all.

That includes headliners [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] (7-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) and [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] (23-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC), who are scheduled to rematch for the middleweight title in the main event, as well as the four remaining main card matchups and featured prelim bout.

If you happen to miss any of the individual sessions on the live stream, check below for the archived videos of each media day.