Preview: UFC Vegas 101 ‘Dern vs. Ribas 2’

Featherweights

Austin Bashi (13-0, 0-0 UFC) vs. Christian Rodriguez (11-2, 4-2 UFC)

ODDS: Bashi (-305), Rodriguez (+245)

Regarded as one of the best prospects on the regional scene before his Contender Series win in 2024, Bashi gets thrown into the deep end for his UFC debut. Bashi is rounding out his game, but his approach is mostly built around his wrestling and grappling, and he has proven to be both dogged enough to get his opponents to the mat and skilled enough to score a lot of submission victories while he’s there. Bashi has a bright future at just 23 years old, but there is some intrigue as to how he will fare in the short term since there are a lot of things to be worked out. As someone who will be dependent on his wrestling for the time being, Bashi could run into some issues as someone who looks to be a good but not quite elite athlete, particularly since he has made the call to get ahead of things and move up from bantamweight to featherweight before his frame fills out. As of now, he’s on the smaller size for 145 pounds and could run into trouble against opponents who can handle his wrestling. That’s why it’s absolutely fascinating that the UFC chose to pair him with Rodriguez, who has made a career out of neutralizing top prospects similar to Bashi.

Rodriguez had some hype ahead of his 2021 appearance on the Contender Series, which went about as poorly as possible outside of the result. Rodriguez won a decision in a flat performance after missing the bantamweight limit, but he eventually got the late-notice call a few months later and looked solid against some of the young guns at 135 pounds. A steady and smart fighter, Rodriguez kept making smart decisions and outlasting opponents like Raul Rosas Jr. and Cameron Saaiman who came in with much more hype. However, Rodriguez proved unable to beat the scale, missing weight for both of those aforementioned victories, and things have been a bit dicier at 145 pounds. He was able to pull off his usual game plan and gut out a decision win over Isaac Dulgarian but got overwhelmed and tapped out by Julian Erosa in July. Even with Rodriguez’s issues, he should be a solid gatekeeper at featherweight going forward at the worst, so this is mostly a referendum on how Bashi’s gas tank holds up against the most capable wrestler and grappler he has faced to date. Rodriguez’s track record in this type of fight might make him the smarter pick, but Bashi looks solid enough that he will get the benefit of the doubt as far as being able to get this victory over the finish line. The pick is Bashi via decision.

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Dern vs. Ribas
Ponzinibbio vs. Harris
Almeida vs. Alhassan
Kopylov vs. Curtis
Bashi vs. Rodriguez
Medic vs. Soriano
The Prelims