Christian Rodriguez vs. Cameron Saaiman in the works for UFC 290

Christian Rodriguez looks to hand the first loss to another undefeated bantamweight prospect in July.

Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting that a matchup between Rodriguez and Cameron Saaiman is in the works for UFC 290, which takes place July 8 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas during the UFC’s International Fight Week. Eurosport was first to report the targeted bout.

Rodriguez (9-1) picked up the biggest win of his career in his most recent outing at this past April’s UFC 287 event when he handed 18-year-old Raul Rosas Jr. his first career loss via unanimous decision, although he missed weight by 1.5 pounds ahead of the contest. Prior to that, “CeeRod” submitted Joshua Weems in the first round at UFC Vegas 63 this past October to pick up his first octagon win.

Saaiman (8-0) picked up a majority decision win over Mana Martinez at UFC 285 in March for his eighth straight pro win, and improved to 2-0 in the UFC. The 22-year-old stopped Steven Koslow in his octagon debut in December with a third-round knockout.

UFC 290 is expected to be headlined by a featherweight championship unification bout between Alexander Volkanovski and interim champ Yair Rodriguez.

Damon Martin contributed to his report.