According to Christian Rodriguez, there is still hope that 18-year-old Raul Rosas Jr. could become a major star in UFC. Although, Rodriguez has concerns that his rapid ascent may have been too soon after his performance at UFC 287, where Rodriguez survived the first round to dominate the young fighter and win a unanimous decision.

Rodriguez felt that Rosas still had a lot of work to do, mainly becoming more comfortable with his striking skills. Despite Rosas’ career beginning to show a decline, Rodriguez believes that he still has potential for the future. He suggested that the UFC shouldn’t be Rosas’ only option and believes that he still has a lot of room to grow and gain experience.

Although Rodriguez was impressed by his opponent, he believes that 15 minutes in the octagon indicate holes in Rosas’ game that need work. Rodriguez is hopeful to compete in the upcoming UFC 290 in July and would potentially like to fight 22-year-old bantamweight Cameron Saaiman. Despite the loss, Rodriguez doesn’t want to shut the door on Rosas’ future and believes he has the potential to become a major player in the sport.