Christian Rodriguez Turned Back Another Unbeaten Prospect
Christian Rodriguez defeated Austin Bashi by unanimous decision at UFC APEX in Las Vegas on January 11, 2025. All three judges scored their featherweight contest 29–28, giving Rodriguez another victory over an opponent who entered with an unbeaten professional record.
Bashi pursued the grappling exchanges
Bashi worked for takedowns and reached Rodriguez’s back during the contest. Rodriguez continued answering with offense, including a stepping knee and a guillotine attempt in the opening round.
The newcomer’s positional successes did not develop into a finish. Rodriguez kept scoring as the fight progressed, doing enough over the three rounds to receive every judge’s overall vote.
The result followed a difficult previous appearance
Rodriguez had been submitted by Julian Erosa through a first-round guillotine in July 2024. The Bashi victory returned him to winning form in his next appearance.
Earlier in 2024, he had edged Isaac Dulgarian by split decision. His 2023 results also included unanimous-decision victories over Raul Rosas Jr and Cameron Saaiman, establishing a pattern of difficult assignments against rising opponents.
Experience shaped the full-distance performance
The Bashi bout added a fourth win over a previously unbeaten prospect to that sequence. Rodriguez’s UFC experience already included both three-round decisions and a submission victory over Joshua Weems.
Against Bashi, he again needed composure across the entire scheduled distance. The unanimous verdict rewarded his sustained offense while preserving the distinction between Bashi’s successful grappling positions and the overall outcome on the judges’ cards.
Sources
- UFC: Rodriguez’s offense and Bashi’s grappling attempts
- UFC: Erosa, Dulgarian, Rosas, Saaiman and Weems results
- Nevada Athletic Commission: official decision and scores
