Preview: UFC Fight Night 239 ‘Tuivasa vs. Tybura’

Featherweights

Isaac Dulgarian (6-0, 1-0 UFC) vs. Christian Rodriguez (10-1, 3-1 UFC)

ODDS: Dulgarian (-192), Rodriguez (+160)

Dulgarian’s UFC debut was certainly worth the wait. Dulgarian looked like a prospect to watch on the regional scene, even if his wins did not come against the best competition. His fights essentially consisted of him quickly taking down and overwhelming his opponents, but those skills looked impressive enough to translate to the UFC level; and translate they did. Dulgarian was matched with a solid prospect in Francis Marshall and controlled nearly the entire fight, ending things with another stoppage on the ground at the tail end of the first round. “The Midwest Choppa” will certainly hit a wall at some point, but he could have an impressive rise through the featherweight ranks until things get there. That could include a win over Rodriguez.

A well-regarded prospect in his own right, Rodriguez had a breakout in 2023 as a prospect-killer of sorts. Still in his mid-20s, “CeeRod” was cast as the experienced veteran against younger and more hyped prospects in Raul Rosas Jr. and Cameron Saaiman. However, Rodriguez’s steady game shut both men down, with Rosas burning himself out and Saaiman unable to overwhelm him with his pace. The worry for Rodriguez is that he might be stuck between divisions. He does not stick out as a large bantamweight, but he missed weight against both Rosas and Saaiman, forcing a move up to featherweight in this outing. The lack of a weight cut could unlock some additional power that serves Rodriguez well, but this does seem like a difficult first ask for his first fight in his new weight class given Dulgarian’s overwhelmingly hot starts. The pick is Dulgarian via second-round stoppage.

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Tuivasa vs. Tybura
Battle vs. Loosa
Nzechukwu vs. St. Preux
Dulgarian vs. Rodriguez
Chiasson vs. Kianzad
Meerschaert vs. Barberena
The Prelims