Marina Rodriguez is one of the sport’s fastest-rising strawweights, even if her most recent conquest took place a weight class up from her usual domain.
The 34-year-old muay Thai specialist took a unanimous decision over a game but badly outgunned Michelle Waterson in the main event of UFC on ESPN 24 on Saturday, elevating her record with the promotion to 4-1-2 and inching closer to a title shot. However, there are still questions to be answered about the completeness of Rodriguez’s game; most of her difficulties in the UFC have been due to her takedown defense and susceptibility to being controlled on the ground, and even the visibly smaller Waterson easily won the fourth round by dedicating herself to wrestling.