Marina Rodriguez Thinks She’s One Win Away From Title Shot

When Marina Rodriguez faces Amanda Lemos in the main event of UFC Vegas 64, she anticipates an entertaining contest.

With four straight victories under her belt, Rodriguez is coming off a thrilling split-decision victory over Yan Xiaonan. Before that, she won her first UFC major events against Mackenzie Dern and Michelle Waterson. She received a “Fight of the Night” bonus for her fight with Dern, and she anticipates receiving it again when she faces Lemos on Saturday.

“I know she’s really tough. She’s got good victories, she’s got really good victories in the UFC. But we are both aggressive strikers, so I’m 100 percent confident that our fight has everything to be Fight of the Night,” Rodriguez said at UFC Vegas 64 media day.

Rodriguez feels that raising her hand will guarantee her a shot at the championship. Carla Esparza will defend her title against Weili Zhang at UFC 281.

“It looks like Weili. She’s well-rounded as a fighter, but it’s MMA. There’s a surprise effect in every fight, like when Carla defeated Rose,” Rodriguez said.

“But for me, to be honest, it doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is I’m going to be there. I’m going to be ready.”

Rodriguez is rated third at strawweight and has a 6-1-2 record inside the octagon. In addition to defeating Tecia Torres and Amanda Ribas, she has only ever lost to Esparza.