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At UFC Vegas 64, strawweight Marina Rodriguez will try to keep her place in the rankings against Amanda Lemos. Rodriguez holds the rank of third in the strawweight rankings. She also is on a four-fight win streak and has victories over Mackenzie Dern a…
At UFC Vegas 64, strawweight Marina Rodriguez will try to keep her place in the rankings against Amanda Lemos. Rodriguez holds the rank of third in the strawweight rankings. She also is on a four-fight win streak and has victories over Mackenzie Dern and Yan Xiaonan. Her win streak and rank have made Rodriguez a…
Continue Reading UFC Vegas 64: Rodriguez vs. Lemos Fight Card, How to Watch at MMA News.
UFC strawweight champion, Carla Esparza believes that Marina Rodriguez deserves the next title shot over Zhang Weili. Following her sensational rematch win over Joanna Jedrzejczyk, former champion Zhang Weili called for and was anointed the number one contender spot. However, the current champion, Carla Esparza believes that Marina Rodriguez, a former opponent, is more deserving […]
UFC strawweight champion, Carla Esparza believes that Marina Rodriguez deserves the next title shot over Zhang Weili.
Following her sensational rematch win over Joanna Jedrzejczyk, former champion Zhang Weili called for and was anointed the number one contender spot. However, the current champion, Carla Esparza believes that Marina Rodriguez, a former opponent, is more deserving of a title shot.
“I don’t think [Zhang] is [more deserving],” Esparza said to MMA Fighting. “I think that Marina has won five straight, I think she’s beaten top-level competition. She’s been staying active, and for me, she’s proven herself. She deserves a title shot. But for whatever reason, I’m sure there’s a lot that goes into it and Weili is getting the shot.”
Rodriguez is currently riding a four-fight win streak after being defeated by Esparza in August of 2020. The Brazilian has produced some great wins over the likes of Mackenzie Dern, Michelle Waterson, and Amanda Ribas.
Although Esparza feels that Rodriguez Is the most deserving and recognizes the improvements in her game, she isn’t fazed about who’s put in front of her even if she feels it isn’t the deserving opponent.
“For me, I fight whoever’s put in front of me, Esparza said. But doesn’t necessarily mean I think it’s fair or was the right call as far as the athlete goes. Every time I watch Marina, I see her getting better and better and beating top girls. Even having to knock somebody out twice in one fight in Amanda Ribas. She’s impressive.
“I definitely think she earned the title fight, and this is just the way it goes with the UFC sometimes. Whether it’s marketing or whatever else the reasoning, that’s just kind of how it goes, and you have to just roll with the punches.”
Although there is no set date for Esparza’s first title defense of her second reign as champion, it will undoubtedly be with either Zhang Weili or Marina Rodriguez. Of the other top five, Esparza is just fresh off a win over Rose Namajunas [No.1], with Dana White shutting down talks of a third fight between them.
As for Mackenzie Dern [No.4] and Yan Xianan [No.5], Rodriguez has beaten both back-to-back in the past eight months.
Marina Rodriguez wants to avenge the only loss of her career and win the UFC strawweight title in the process. The UFC’s #3-ranked strawweight contender made her case to challenge recently crowned champion Carla Esparza during an interview with Combate. “I’m the strawweight with the longest win streak in the division, so I think it’s…
Continue Reading Marina Rodriguez Promises Not To Bore Fans If Given “Fair” Title Shot at MMA News.
Marina Rodriguez wants to avenge the only loss of her career and win the UFC strawweight title in the process.
The UFC’s #3-ranked strawweight contender made her case to challenge recently crowned champion Carla Esparza during an interview with Combate.
“I’m the strawweight with the longest win streak in the division, so I think it’s only fair for me to be the next challenger,” Rodriguez said. “All the other athletes in the mix have had their chances already.
“I believe it’s time to shake things up and give other athletes a chance. The fans like new blood fighting for the belt. Whoever gets this chance for the first time will try to show fans how important this is to them. I’m sure they’ll deliver a fun, aggressive fight and that they’ll leave all they’ve got in the Octagon in order to win the belt.”
In addition to her win streak, Rodriguez does have a case regarding “new blood” challenging for the strawweight title.
After defeating inaugural champion Esparza in 2015, Joanna J?drzejczyk made five strawweight title defenses against five different challengers. J?drzejczyk lost to Rose Namajunas in 2017, and only J?drzejczyk, Namajunas, Jéssica Andrade, and Zhang Weili either held or challenged for the title until Esparza reclaimed the belt at UFC 274 this year.
Esparza’s title fight against Rose Namajunas didn’t exactly set the MMA world on fire with its action, something Rodriguez seemed to be well aware of during her interview.
“If I have this chance, I’ll not let this fight be boring for a second. This is my chance to become champion of the world, I won’t let it pass me by. You have to give your life for it. I’m a UFC employee, though, so I follow their plans. If they think I should do one more fight before the belt, I will. I’m not counting on my next fight being for the belt.”
The 35-year-old Brazilian is currently on a four-fight win streak after Carla Esparza beat her by split decision in 2020. That was the only loss of Rodriguez’s MMA career, although her record does include two draws in the UFC against Randa Markos and Cynthia Calvillo.
Rodriguez most recently competed at UFC 272 and won a split decision over Yan Xiaonan.
Do you think that Marina Rodriguez deserves the next strawweight title shot?
Continue Reading Marina Rodriguez Promises Not To Bore Fans If Given “Fair” Title Shot at MMA News.
Mackenzie Dern revealed in an exclusive interview with MMA News that she suffered a knee injury before her main event loss to Marina Rodriguez. Dern went on to lose to Rodriguez in her first career UFC main event at UFC Vegas 39 last October via a unanimous decision. She was unable to deal with Rodriguez’s…
Continue Reading EXCLUSIVE | Dern Reveals Pre-Fight Injury Before Rodriguez Loss at MMA News.
Mackenzie Dern revealed in an exclusive interview with MMA News that she suffered a knee injury before her main event loss to Marina Rodriguez.
Dern went on to lose to Rodriguez in her first career UFC main event at UFC Vegas 39 last October via a unanimous decision. She was unable to deal with Rodriguez’s boxing or get the fight to the ground by using her signature Jiu-Jitsu.
Dern remains one of the top UFC strawweight prospects heading into her 2022 debut against Tecia Torres at UFC 273. However, it was a hard road back to full health following the knee injury before her fight with Rodriguez.
Dern explained what led to her knee injury in a recent sitdown with MMA News’ James Lynch.
“Yeah, I hurt it on the last sparring before my fight with Marina on Friday [of fight week],” Dern said. “It was more during the fight week, so during fight week it just blew up and it was huge. I couldn’t really do anything, I couldn’t train during fight week, I couldn’t move around too much, I couldn’t put pressure on my knee or anything like that. In the fight, I didn’t feel it or anything like that. Marina did a couple of kicks and it was in the back of my head. She didn’t know about it or anything like that.
“I felt good, I had trained hard and everything like that. But it was a little distraction. All of these things are little distractions and you just gotta learn to block it all out.”
Dern went on to reveal that she underwent knee surgery following the fight with Rodriguez and made a full recovery ahead of this fight camp.
Before the loss to Rodriguez, Dern had won four straight over the likes of Nina Nunes and Virna Jandiroba. She debuted in the UFC back at UFC 222 following successful stints in LFA and Invicta FC.
Dern will look to get back into the strawweight title picture with a win over Torres at UFC 273. Her grappling is arguably the best in the strawweight division and she’s proven to be a matchup nightmare for most contenders.
What is your prediction for Mackenzie Dern vs. Tecia Torres?
Continue Reading EXCLUSIVE | Dern Reveals Pre-Fight Injury Before Rodriguez Loss at MMA News.
It appears that UFC strawweight contender Marina Rodriguez did enough to earn a No. 1 contender spot in her win over Yan Xiaonan at UFC 272. Rodriguez won a closely-contested top-5 matchup against Xiaonan in a back-and-forth war on the feet. Rodriguez struggled with Xiaonan’s speed early in the fight but found a rhythm with…
Continue Reading White On Rodriguez Facing Esparza/Namajunas Winner: “Makes Sense” at MMA News.
It appears that UFC strawweight contender Marina Rodriguez did enough to earn a No. 1 contender spot in her win over Yan Xiaonan at UFC 272.
Rodriguez won a closely-contested top-5 matchup against Xiaonan in a back-and-forth war on the feet. Rodriguez struggled with Xiaonan’s speed early in the fight but found a rhythm with her pacing as the bout went on.
Rodriguez has been on a roll in the strawweight division after an impressive 2021. She earned three-straight wins last year including lopsided victories over the likes of Michelle Waterson and Mackenzie Dern.
During his UFC 272 post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White said it “makes sense” that Rodriguez would face the winner of Rose Namajunas vs. Carla Esparza.
The promotion has been working on booking the Namajunas/Esparza rematch in 2022. Although it hasn’t been formally announced, it’s widely expected to be the next title fight at 115 pounds.
Rodriguez made her UFC debut back in 2018 following a gruesome knockout of Maria Oliveira on Dana White’s Contender Series. She has yet to face Namajunas in the UFC but lost in a close split decision against Esparza in July 2020.
Namajunas earned her second stint as the strawweight queen by knocking out Zhang Weili at UFC 261. She would follow it up by earning a decision win over Weili in their rematch at UFC 268.
Rodriguez is looking to become the latest Brazilian UFC champion and the first Brazilian strawweight champion since Jéssica Andrade held the title in 2019. She’ll have the chance to prove herself with her next Octagon appearance, which is expected to be for a championship belt.
Do you think Marina Rodriguez is a future UFC champion?
Continue Reading White On Rodriguez Facing Esparza/Namajunas Winner: “Makes Sense” at MMA News.
Ahead of her next battle against Marina Rodriguez, Yan Xiaonan reflects on her recent defeat against Carla Esparza. Last May, Xiaonan saw her 11-fight win streak come to an end. The “Cookie Monster” devastated her in the cage with punches that ended the fight in round 2. Carla Esparza is a fierce opponent in the…
Continue Reading Yan Xiaonan Reveals What She Learned From Carla Esparza Defeat at MMA News.
Ahead of her next battle against Marina Rodriguez, Yan Xiaonan reflects on her recent defeat against Carla Esparza.
Last May, Xiaonan saw her 11-fight win streak come to an end. The “Cookie Monster” devastated her in the cage with punches that ended the fight in round 2.
Carla Esparza is a fierce opponent in the Octagon. Even the current strawweight champion, Rose Namajunas, was finished by Esparza when they fought back in 2014.
Similar to Namajunas, Xiaonan felt the loss was a lesson and showed where improvements need to be made.
“The biggest lesson is you have to be ready for a big fight like that. 100% ready. Another lesson is the direction—how you prepare for the fight. So, we had some problems on that in my last fight camp. So, yeah, everything, I learned a little bit of everything in that fight,” Xiaonan told LowKickMMA.
Most fighters will tell you that preparation for a fight is more important than the fight itself. You have to go into the ring mentally and physically fit enough to defeat your opponent.
A bad day can lead to a bad fight just as well as being undertrained. But losing can also be a humbling experience, and many fighters have come back stronger from it.
This Saturday, Xiaonan will face Brazil’s Marina Rodriguez at UFC 272. They hold spots in the top 5 of the strawweight rankings, and after their match, one will be much closer to the title shot.
What are your thoughts on how Yan Xiaonan reflects on her loss to Carla Esparza?
Continue Reading Yan Xiaonan Reveals What She Learned From Carla Esparza Defeat at MMA News.