"Deport Sal D'Amato already" - Fans and fighters react as Isaac Dulgarian loses controversial split-decision to Christian Rodriguez at UFC Vegas 88

The Christian Rodriguez vs. Isaac Dulgarian fight was viewed by many as an interesting test for the latter. Dulgarian, after all, was undefeated and young enough at 27 to raise some interest. However, the closely contested fight he just had with Rodriguez has robbed him of his unbeaten record.

The bantamweight matchup was one of two halves, with Dulgarian dominating most of round one. Round two was more competitive, but Dulgarian still looked superior. The tide, however, turned massively in round three when Rodriguez gained the upper hand against an exhausted Dulgarian.

By the end, the commentators felt that a draw was justified. However, one judge, the controversial Sal D'Amato, disagreed, sparking outrage by handing the split-decision win to Rodriguez. Naturally, both fans and fighters alike did not take kindly to his decision, taking to X to air their grievances.

UFC flyweight Jeff Molina expressed his frustration with the judging and called for D'Amato's termination on social media.

"One again fire Sal.. 28-27 is disgusting"

This was echoed in another comment.

"Deport Sal D'Amato already"

Former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling even felt that a draw was the correct result.

"Personally I thought a draw was coming."

Another fan merely bemoaned the poor judging, which has garnered more scrutiny as of late.

"UFC judges are the worst smh"

A collage of reactions can be seen below:

Reactions to Christian Rodriguez's win over Isaac Dulgarian

The result extends Rodriguez's win streak to four consecutive victories. For Dulgarian, however, it is a bitter outcome and he will have to recover from the sting of his first professional defeat.

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Christian Rodriguez has built up a reputation for beating undefeated fighters

Isaac Dulgarian isn't the first undefeated bantamweight that Christian Rodriguez has beaten. He recently handed previously undefeated South African phenom, Cameron Saaiman, the latter's first-ever loss at UFC Vegas 81.

Check out Christian Rodriguez tripping Cameron Saaiman:

Similarly, he also ended Raul Rosas Jr.'s undefeated run, interrupting the young prospect's then-massive hype train. Now, with the Dulgarian win, he has carved himself out a curious niche as a killer of undefeated fighters.