Jessica Andrade vs. Marina Rodriguez
Round 1 – Both fighters got off to a slow start, but Rodriguez picked things up and landed a nice right. Andrade has mostly been throwing leg kicks so far. Oh, Rodriguez landed the first nice combo. Be careful if Rodriguez keeps his distance. And as I typed that, Rodriguez threw a front kick that was caught and she fell to the ground with Andrade on top. She gets into side control and throws a punch, but her guard catches her and sends her flying off. It was a stalemate of sorts, but Andrade found his way back and is now in half-guard. She throws her hammer fist a few times and she now moves into side control. It looked like she was going for an arm triangle, but Rodriguez blocked her by crossing her hands. Rodriguez has Dulce, but she's in last place so there's no danger and Andrade quickly slips out. We finished with Andrade on top, but that failure of hers hurt Rodriguez because she was aggressive in that position. Andrade wins the round 10-9.
Round 2 – Rodriguez established distance early and landed from a distance with his clear height and reach advantage. Andrade's answer is a leg kick. She's hard for her to land a punch. Rodriguez doesn't have much trouble in the first two minutes. She takes a shot and it shows up in red around Andrade's nose. Rodriguez continues to show he is comfortable with his punches. With 90 seconds left, it was all hands and no kick. Andrade is currently bleeding from her nose. Rodriguez's work on the outside is great. But watch out for her, Andrade stunned her with his right hand and now she's doing some dirty boxing. Rodriguez wobbles with 15 seconds left. Yeah, it got interesting in the final moments of the round when Rodriguez was so dominant. I don't think he did enough to take the round. 10-9 Rodriguez.
Round 3 – Big spinning backfist from Rodriguez starts this round. Right arm perfect for follow-up. And now a great left hook. Rodriguez has a great combination right now. It was a good start to the round for her. …Well, not now, as Rodriguez gets a little sloppy and gets slammed to the ground. But she quickly got back to her feet with 2 minutes and 30 seconds left. Rodriguez immediately lands a big right hand, but Andrade successfully eats it. O Rodriguez then landed a standing choke that Andrade created by closing the distance. Interesting moment, but they stand apart and continue trading. Oh, and a leg kick sends Rodriguez to the mat. However, she recovered in the final seconds and they threw to end the round, but nothing happened. It was definitely a 10-9 round for Rodriguez. She won in a close 29-28 decision.
result: Jessica Andrade def. Marina Rodriguez, split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
summary: UFC 300 Results: Jessica Andrade defeats Marina Rodriguez in a striking match
photograph:
record: Andrade (MMA 26-12, UFC 17-10), Rodriguez (MMA 17-4-2, UFC 7-4-2)
Split: Women's Strawweight
broadcast:ESPN+
referee: Chris Tognoni
Examine: UFC 300: Official Las Vegas Scorecard
