Marina Rodriguez kept her undefeated record intact at UFC Uruguay, impressively defeating veteran Tecia Torres by unanimous decision.
Tecia Torres is looking to keep the good times going as her fiancee, Raquel Pennington, recently won for the first time since 2016 at UFC San Antonio. Torres herself has struggled lately, losing in her last three fights with her last victory coming in 2017. Her level of competition has been as high as it gets though, losing to former dominant champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk, current champion Jessica Andrade, and current title challenger Weili Zhang. Prior to the skid, “Tiny Tornado” was 6-1 in the UFC with the lone loss being a controversial decision against Rose Namajunas.
Marina Rodriguez is undefeated at 11-0-1 with five knockouts and one submission. In 2018, she won by first-round knockout on Dana White’s Contender Series to earn a contract with the UFC. Her debut did not go as planned, fighting to a draw with Randa Markos. However, she defeated former WSOF champion Jessica Aguilar by decision in March.
With a six-inch height difference between the fighters, the opening moments of the first round were a feeling out process. Rodriguez was firing kicks and keeping the smaller Torres out of range early-on. The action picked up as the round went on, with both fighters throwing combinations and Rodriguez stuffing a takedown attempt from Torres. The “Tiny Tornado” struggled to get inside on Rodriguez, who was able to get the better of the UFC veteran in the clinch throughout the first five minutes.
Rodriguez continued to control the center of the Octagon early in round two. Keeping Torres away with kicks, Rodriguez forced Torres against the cage 90-seconds into the round, but was unable to turn it into anything of note. Halfway through the round and the fight, Rodriguez stuffed another takedown attempt from Torres, showing impressive balance. The fight turned into a clinch battle shortly thereafter, with both fighters managing to land some solid strikes.
The kicks continued from Rodriguez in the final minutes of round two. Kicking the body, and landing a solid shot to Torres’ face, Rodriguez was able to utilize her muay Thai skills and keep Torres off balance. The round ended where much of it had been fought to that point, in the clinch, with both fighters working hard for position.
Rodriguez looked to have the range figured out early in round three, landing a solid three strike combination, and following it up with a heavy right hand. The fight returned to the clinch against the cage, as Rodriguez continued to pressure and march forward while controlling the center of the Octagon. With two minutes remaining, Torres shot for a takedown, which Rodriguez handled well and turned into a standing guillotine submission attempt.
The attempt didn’t finish the fight, but it momentarily got the fight to the ground, with Rodriguez in top position. The fight returned to the feet for the final minute, where Rodriguez was able to see-it-out, controlling the center of the Octagon and doing well in the clinch as the horn sounded.
Result: Marina Rodriguez def. Tecia Torres by unanimous decision (30-27×2, 30-26)
Check out all of the results from UFC Uruguay here!
