“They Wanted Me to Lose”: Christian Rodriguez Revealed His Initial Thoughts After Being Offered to Fight Raul Rosas Jr. for UFC 287

UFC star Raul Rosas Jr. stumbled to a loss in his second UFC fight, putting a small dent in his dream to become a triple champion. The youngest fighter in the promotion’s history lacked proficiency when the fight at UFC 287 tested his strength and stamina. While the exciting prospect garnered the eyeballs, his opponent, Christian Rodriguez, was content to play the second fiddle coming into the fight. The underdog role befitted him as he racked a dominating win over ‘El Nino Problema’. However, the win was the last thing on the American fighter’s mind when he first realized the UFC pitted him against the prodigal fighter.

The 25-year-old fighter, who took advantage of his experience to empty the gas tank of Rosas Jr, initially wondered whether the promotion deliberately fixed the matchup to leave him hanging in the loser’s column. However, soon the second thoughts subsided, and the excitement took over at the prospect of an exciting matchup.

Rodriguez theorized UFC wanted to hand him a loss against Raul Rosas Jr.

Notably, ‘CeeRod’ opened up about his emotions in a conversation with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. He significantly also earned his right to fight in the promotion through Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021, likewise his opponent.

When asked about his initial feelings, the 9-1 record holder admitted he was excited. But, he also had his apprehensions as everyone loved Rosas Jr. Thus, he said, “I was excited at first. I thought like maybe they wanted me to lose.”

“Just because, like, I do know everyone loves Raul Rosas. But I got super excited. Just because I thought it was a really good matchup,” he added later on.

This prompted the host to seek the guest’s views on whether he believed UFC president Dana White had a dog in the fight.

Dana White wanted to see who could become a bigger star

The Roufusport MMA Academy representative shunned the speculation, as he believed the top brass of UFC management didn’t care.

He, therefore, expressed, “Throughout the time, I just started thinking, like I don’t think they care.”

Lastly, he summed up, “Just because when I fought on Dana’s Contender, I did know that there Dana and Sean were a fan of my style. So then I was like, maybe they just want to see who can be a bigger star, you know.”

Markedly, Rodriguez started his UFC journey with a loss in his debut fight against Jonathan Pearce. He then picked a win against Joshua Weems and steered his UFC career to winning ways. With a win over Rosas Jr. in his third fight for the promotion, he can target a bigger fish now.

Read More: 18-Year-Old Prospect Raul Rosas Jr. Issues a Public Apology Following His Loss Against Christian Rodriguez at UFC 287: “I Didn’t Have the Energy…”

What do you think of these statements by surging UFC star Christian Rodriguez about his win at UFC 287? Do you believe the fighter will build upon his recently found success in the UFC? Let us know in the comments below.

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