Marina Rodriguez Record: 17-6-2

Climbing the strawweight ladder

Her UFC arrival was a baptism by fire: a 2018 majority draw with Randa Markos in her promotional debut. Rodriguez settled in quickly, banking unanimous-decision wins over veteran Jessica Aguilar and Tecia Pennington in 2019, with a second draw – against Cynthia Calvillo – sandwiched in. A 2020 split-decision loss to former champion Carla Esparza was a setback, but Rodriguez answered with the best stretch of her career.

Peak contender years

In January 2021 she stopped Amanda Ribas with elbows and punches at UFC 257, then outpointed Michelle Waterson-Gomez over five rounds. She closed 2021 with a five-round unanimous decision over grappling ace Mackenzie Dern, then opened 2022 with a split-decision nod over Xiaonan Yan at UFC 272 to push into title contention. The back half of her run proved tougher: a 2022 TKO loss to Amanda Lemos, a 2023 decision loss to Virna Jandiroba, and a rebound second-round TKO of Waterson-Gomez. Decision losses to Jéssica Andrade at UFC 300 and Iasmin Lucindo followed, and a 2025 TKO defeat to Gillian Robertson left her with a 17-6-2 record.

Fighting style

Rodriguez is first and foremost a striker, and her Muay Thai pedigree shows in her volume, footwork and elbow-heavy clinch work. Seven of her 17 wins have come by knockout or TKO, but she is equally comfortable banking rounds on the scorecards – nine of those wins are decisions, and two of her UFC bouts ended in draws, a reflection of how often she fights in tight, technical battles. Her one professional submission underscores that grappling is the support beam rather than the foundation, and a string of split decisions and draws hints at a margin-for-error problem when opponents drag her into close exchanges or take her down.

Career highlights

• UFC Contender Series finish — a first-round TKO of Maria Oliveira in 2018 earned the contract that launched her UFC run.
• Signature 2021 stretch — beat Amanda Ribas, Michelle Waterson-Gomez and Mackenzie Dern in a single year to push toward the title picture.
• Wins over ranked names — victories over Xiaonan Yan and other top strawweights cemented her as a fixture in the divisional top 10.