UFC 290 adds rising prospect battle: Christian Rodriguez vs. Cameron Saaiman

Two rising prospects in the UFC bantamweight division are set to collide during International Fight Week.

Christian Rodriguez and Cameron Saaiman are expected to fight July 8 at UFC 290, which takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Two people with knowledge of the targeted matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Eurosport NL first reported the news Thursday.

Rodriguez (9-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) picked up his second promotional victory at UFC 287 in April when he upset teenage sensation Raul Rosas Jr. in a fairly dominant unanimous decision showing. The victory extended his winning streak to two, paired with a quick submission of Joshua Weems in October.

Saaiman (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) is 22, making him one of the youngest fighters on the UFC roster. So far, Saaiman has defeated Steven Koslow by TKO and Mana Martinez by majority decision.

With the addition, the UFC 290 lineup includes:

• Alexander Volkanovski vs. Yair Rodriguez – for featherweight title
• Brandon Moreno vs. Alexandre Pantoja – for flyweight title
• Dricus Du Plessis vs. Robert Whittaker
• Tresean Gore vs. Bo Nickal
• Niko Price vs. Robbie Lawler
• Dan Hooker vs. Jalin Turner
• Sean Brady vs. Jack Della Maddalena
• Christian Rodriguez vs. Cameron Saaiman
• Denise Gomes vs. Yazmin Jauregui
• Jesus Aguilar vs. Shannon Ross

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 290.