Julian Erosa and Christian Rodriguez at UFC Denver media day
Featherweight Julian Erosa will be looking to secure his second straight win against Christian Rodriguez on Saturday night’s UFC Denver main card.
“Juicy J” was coming into the night coming off a win over Ricardo Ramos, while Rodriguez was riding a four-fight win streak that included upset wins over promising prospects Raul Rosas Jr. and Cameron Syman.
Rodriguez started the bout on the offensive right away, getting in Erosa’s face with a jab before quickly launching punches and landing a low kick. Erosa landed a few looping uppercuts as his opponent continued to move forward. Rodriguez continued to apply pressure with a sneaky head kick against the cage, followed by a combination of punches.
Erosa threw multiple punch combinations, including uppercuts, and raised his arms to provoke his opponent. Rodriguez quickly fought back with a variety of punch combinations. Erosa landed a few teeps to the body, then landed a big elbow with two minutes left in the round. The two men traded punches against the cage, with Erosa cautiously looking to strike.
With nearly a minute left in the round, Rodriguez threw a body kick that Erosa caught. Erosa kept his feet and tripped Rodriguez, then quickly moved to his back. With 30 seconds left in the round, Rodriguez got out of a body triangle and into his opponent’s full guard. But Rodriguez couldn’t correct himself, and with his head still low, Erosa grabbed Rodriguez in a guillotine and took his opponent down with a body triangle. Just seconds later, Rodriguez tapped out, and the ferociously paced bout was stopped.
Dustin Poirier later endorsed it.
Ghillie Gang
— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) July 14, 2024
OFFICIAL RESULT: Julian Erosa defeats Christian Rodriguez by submission (guillotine choke), Round 1, 4 minutes, 49 seconds
