Those kinds of short-notice, different weight class, good account of yourself fights are ones everyone should circle, and Rodriguez has shown why since returning to bantamweight. He choked out Joshua Weems in the first round eight months after losing to Pearce, and then earlier this year, the Roufusport product halted the rapid ascent of Raul Rosas Jr. by showing the young prospect that he needs more seasoning.
The performance against Rosas Jr. is one that should have people eagerly anticipating Rodriguez’ return to action this weekend, as he showed tremendous patience and poise in dealing with the furious initial burst of the now 19-year-old fighter, and then dominated the action over the final two rounds to collect his second straight UFC triumph.
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Saaiman also appeared on Dana White’s Contender Series, earning a third-round stoppage win over Joshua Wang-Kim on Season 6, and has continued piling up the victories since touching down on the UFC roster.
The 22-year-old South African secured a third-round finish over Steven Koslow in his debut, edged out Mana Martinez in his sophomore showing, and thrived opposite Terrence Mitchell in July when the former Ultimate Fighter contestant tagged in for Rodriguez when he was forced out of their initial pairing. It hasn’t been smooth sailing the whole way through for “MSP,” as each of his first two outings featured point deductions, but he was clean and efficient in his performance against Mitchell and offers plenty of reasons to be excited about his upside.
