{"id":508516,"date":"2026-03-02T01:42:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T01:42:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/508516\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T01:42:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T01:42:17","slug":"ufc-mexico-rookie-report-card-grading-all-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/508516\/","title":{"rendered":"UFC Mexico Rookie Report Card: Grading all 6"},"content":{"rendered":"

You only get one Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut.<\/p>\n

Six rookies stepped into the Octagon this weekend (Sat., Feb. 28, 2026) at UFC Mexico City<\/a> inside Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico. The promotion\u2019s latest batch of newcomers went an impressive 5-1, with several scoring violent finishes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now that the dust has settled, let\u2019s hand out grades.<\/p>\n

\"MEXICO<\/a><\/p>\n

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – FEBRUARY 28: Imanol Rodriguez of Mexico reacts after a TKO victory against Kevin Borjas of Peru in a flyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Arena CDMX on February 28, 2026 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Jeff Bottari\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n

The only rookie to land on the Paramount+-streamed main card was Imanol Rodriguez \u2026 and for good reason. He\u2019s ultra-aggressive and a genuinely high-upside prospect<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Things nearly went sideways, though. Kevin Borjas clipped him with a clean counter left hook that had Rodriguez badly hurt. It looked like the Mexican\u2019s debut might end in disaster. Instead, Rodriguez secured a timely takedown, survived the round on top and reset.<\/p>\n

Round two was vintage Rodriguez. After a measured start, he blasted Borjas with a right hand to the temple, dropped him, and swarmed for the finish (watch highlights<\/a>).<\/p>\n

This is what you get with Rodriguez: chaos, danger, violence. He puts himself at risk, and if you don\u2019t finish him, he will drown you in pressure.<\/p>\n

Docking him slightly for getting rocked, but the recovery and finish matter more.<\/p>\n

Give me Rodriguez vs. Rei Tsuruya next.<\/p>\n

\"MEXICO<\/a><\/p>\n

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – FEBRUARY 28: Ryan Gandra of Brazil reacts after a victory against Jose Daniel Medina of Bolivia in a middleweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Arena CDMX on February 28, 2026 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Jeff Bottari\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n

Ryan Gandra needed just 41 seconds to send Jose Medina packing out of UFC (hopefully), marking the fastest stoppage loss of Medina\u2019s career (watch highlights<\/a>).<\/p>\n

There\u2019s not much to dissect. Gandra used push kicks to establish range, blitzed forward and flattened him. It was clinical and vicious.<\/p>\n

With six first round stoppages, Gandra is pure violence. He\u2019s a welcome addition to Middleweight and should deliver fireworks for years.<\/p>\n

Book him against Ismail Naurdiev next.<\/p>\n

\"MEXICO<\/a><\/p>\n

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – FEBRUARY 28: (R-L) Javier Reyes of Colombia punches Douglas Silva de Andrade of Brazil in a featherweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Arena CDMX on February 28, 2026 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Jeff Bottari\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n

Colombia\u2019s Javier Reyes didn\u2019t have a smooth debut. He was cracked twice early by UFC veteran, Douglas Silva de Andrade, before rallying. Reyes dropped Andrade with a right hand and unleashed brutal ground-and-pound, forcing the referee to intervene.<\/p>\n

It was exciting, but not clean. Reyes was eight years younger and physically bigger, yet still absorbed big shots. Maybe adversity woke him up.<\/p>\n

Still, he finished a seasoned veteran \u2026 and that counts.<\/p>\n

If healthy, match him with Kaan Ofli in Perth.<\/p>\n

\"MEXICO<\/a><\/p>\n

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – FEBRUARY 28: (R-L) Regina Tarin of Mexico punches Ernesta Kareckaite of Lithuania in a catchweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Arena CDMX on February 28, 2026 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Jeff Bottari\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n

Taking the fight on three days\u2019 notice<\/a>, 21-year-old Regina Tarin went to war with Ernesta Kareckaite in one of the most entertaining women\u2019s bouts in recent memory.<\/p>\n

It was three rounds of pocket trading. Tarin adjusted well in round two with sharper Muay Thai and nasty knees, then pushed the pace in the final frame, even mixing in a takedown.<\/p>\n

She won via unanimous decision, though it felt a lot closer.<\/p>\n

At just 21, she\u2019s still very raw. And the lack of head movement is concerning; however, she\u2019s fearless and fun. The upside is obvious.<\/p>\n

I do hope the promotion matches her up smartly. She should fight Yuneisy Duben in her sophomore outing.<\/p>\n

\"MEXICO<\/a><\/p>\n

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – FEBRUARY 28: (R-L) Damian Pinas of Suriname punches Wes Schultz in a middleweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Arena CDMX on February 28, 2026 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Jeff Bottari\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n

Two rookies who claimed contracts on Season 9 of Contender Series<\/a> went head-to-head to kick off UFC Mexico City in a \u201cStriker vs. Grappler\u201d matchup \u2026 and it did not take long.<\/p>\n

Damian Pinas wasted no time making a statement against Wes Schultz.<\/p>\n

After defending an early shot, Pinas dropped Schultz with a 1-2, stuffed another takedown, hit him with an uppercut and then knocked him out with another 1-2 (see it here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Efficient. Violent. Impressive.<\/p>\n

He was one of Contender Series<\/a>\u2019 most exciting prospects last season, and he proved why.<\/p>\n

I would like to see him against Andrey Pulyaev next.<\/p>\n

As for Schultz \u2026 rough night.<\/p>\n

He struggled with distance, couldn\u2019t secure sustained grappling, and was overwhelmed on the feet. If his wrestling doesn\u2019t dictate terms, he\u2019s going to have problems at this level.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not predicting an 0-4 skid \u2014 his grappling is tricky \u2014 but if opponents defend it, he\u2019s in trouble. He is essentially a Middleweight Ryan Hall.<\/p>\n

I guess he could fight Ryan Loder next.<\/p>\n

For complete UFC Mexico City results, coverage and highlights click HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"You only get one Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut. Six rookies stepped into the Octagon this weekend (Sat.,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":508517,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[444],"tags":[49,48,641,33601,638,82,139445,702,7788],"class_list":["post-508516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-fighting","tag-latest-ufc-mma-news","tag-mma","tag-sports","tag-ufc-on-paramount","tag-ufc-news","tag-ufc-results"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=508516"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508516\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/508517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=508516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=508516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=508516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}