Arguably the most interesting matchup of all the upcoming UFC fights this weekend is between two featherweight rising prospects Christian Rodriguez and Isaac Dulgarian on the main card. Who will secure the win and ascend in a competitive division?
Rodriguez vs. Dulgarian Picks
- Pick: Dulgarian -185.
Read more for the official Rodriguez vs Dulgarian prediction and our scores and odds analysis ahead of placing bets:
Christian Rodriguez vs Isaac Dulgarian Information
Christian Rodriguez vs Isaac Dulgarian
Location of the fight: UFC APEX, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Date & Time: March 16, 2024. 7 PM ET main card start
How to Watch: ESPN+
Last Fight Record
Rodriguez is coming off a unanimous decision win over Cameron Saaiman in October.
Dulgarian is coming off winning his UFC debut by first-round TKO over Francis Marshall last August.
Christian Rodriguez vs Isaac Dulgarian Betting Analysis
Christian Rodriguez
Rodriguez is an American mixed martial artist with a professional MMA record of 10-1, including 3 TKO/KO wins and 4 submissions. He trains at Roufusport in Milwaukee with a very good team, along with traveling to Thailand for this fight camp to broaden his knowledge.
Rodriguez is a 5’7” freestyle fighter with a 71” reach while fighting out of the orthodox stance. In the octagon, he averages 3.51 significant strikes landed and 2.46 significant strikes absorbed per minute. He adds 1.40 takedowns landed per 15 minutes as well, along with a 70% takedown defense and 1.4 submission average per 15 minutes.
Isaac Dulgarian
Dulgarian is an American mixed martial artist from Long Island, NY with a professional MMA record of 6-0, including 4 TKO/KO wins and 2 submissions. He’s a great athlete and grew up playing multiple sports, including winning three state titles in wrestling as a high schooler (all three styles) and going on to compete at the NCAA-D2 level where he earned All-American honors.
Dulgarian is a 5’7” orthodox fighter with a 71” reach. He only has one fight in the octagon, averaging 7.29 significant strikes landed per minute and only absorbing 0.42. He dominated in his debut by getting a quick takedown and making quick work of his opponent in the first round.
Updates
The UFC or ESPN has not reported any injuries.
Christian Rodriguez vs Isaac Dulgarian Betting Preview
Making this Rodriguez vs Dulgarian prediction is very difficult because we don’t know too much about it. The fun part of these UFC Fight Night events in the APEX is the opportunity to watch legit, young prospects compete at the highest level against each other.
We have to start with the UFC fight odds. They are showing Dulgarian as the -185 betting favorite over the +160 Rodriguez. The over/under is set even at 2.5 rounds and this bout is slightly favored to end inside the distance at -130 according to the BetUS sportsbook.
While making UFC picks, you’ll need to understand the stylistic matchup for each fight. In this one, we fight an oversized bantamweight with a more free-flowing style and a legit wrestler who has very good athleticism and strength.
Outside factors you need to know about Rodriguez include his weight issues and his mental health going into this fight. No disrespect to anyone going through things, but Rodriguez has cited his struggles many times leading up to this fight. Along with that, he has missed weight badly multiple times in his career–including his DWCS win years back.
Rodriguez has now transitioned to featherweight, facing another challenging assignment as he must defeat a highly-regarded prospect.
Dulgarian is going into this weekend being undefeated and having lots of confidence. Sometimes the undefeated, unbeatable delusion can carry fighters to high places in the MMA world.
Christian Rodriguez vs Isaac Dulgarian Best Bets and Prediction
The official Rodriguez vs Dulgarian prediction is that Dulgarian will get his hand raised on Saturday night.
Making this pick was tough because Rodriguez is such a resilient fighter who stays in the battle until the end. The mental battles going into this week for him are concerning, along with the fact that he has been taken down and controlled by lesser wrestlers compared to Dulgarian.
- Pick: Dulgarian -185.
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