How legit is Marina Rodriguez?
[autotag]Marina Rodriguez[/autotag] is unbeaten in her first four UFC fights, and even in a division as talent-rich as strawweight, that’s a fast enough start to turn heads.
Except, Rodriguez (12-0-2 MMA, 2-0-2 UFC) also didn’t win two of those fights, going to majority draws against both Randa Markos and Cynthia Calvillo. That’s enough of a body of work to understand we’ve got something here with the 33-year old Brazilian, but not enough to get a real gauge on her ceiling.
Fortunately, Rodriguez is taking on far and away her toughest and biggest name opponent Saturday, when she meets inaugural UFC and former Invicta FC strawweight champ [autotag]Carla Esparza[/autotag] in a bout that was originally scheduled for July 15 but moved back when one of Rodriguez’s corners tested for COVID.
Esparza (16-6 MMA, 7-4 UFC), who’s never quite gotten her due as one of the sport’s toughest pound-for-pound competitors, is on her hottest run in a while, with three consecutive victories, most recently over Michelle Waterson. Assuming this one doesn’t end in yet another Rodriguez draw, the winner of this fight seems destined to end up on the short list of real contenders for Zhang Weili’s belt.
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