Welterweights
Themba Gorimbo (11-4, 1-1 UFC) vs. Pete Rodriguez (5-1, 1-1 UFC)It will be interesting to see what shakes out between two prospects who are still more potential than production. Gorimbo did not look particularly UFC-ready upon his signing in 2023. The Zimbabwe-born fighter had some of the right ideas in terms of pace and attempting to get to his wrestling, but he did not appear to have much technical depth or athletic drive while implementing that game. A debut loss to A.J. Fletcher was a bit of a rude awakening, but Gorimbo showed much more impressive form a few months later in a win over Takashi Sato, suggesting he could continue to improve greatly now that he is stateside and with a major promotion. He now takes on Rodriguez, who has also shown some impressive flashes but is among the least proven fighters on the UFC roster.
Rodriguez had all of four professional fights—all quick knockouts over weak competition—when the UFC picked him up as a late replacement in 2022, and it is hard to parse much from his two trips to the Octagon to date. He was clearly out of his depth against current rising contender Jack Della Maddalena, then had little difficulty running through Mike Jackson. Rodriguez does seem to have the proper disposition for fighting—even against Della Maddalena, he kept trying to make some violence happen while things were going south—but it is difficult to tell how he matches up against Gorimbo, particularly since his takedown defense remains a complete question mark. Rodriguez gets the nod as the fighter more likely to land some big moments of offense, but this is a complete toss-up, in part because there is a solid chance one of these fighters shows a new level of improvement. The pick is Rodriguez via decision.
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Gorimbo vs. Rodriguez
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