Invicta FC flyweight champion Karina Rodriguez will take her next fight inside the Bellator MMA cage.
On Monday, a source familiar with the situation confirmed to Cageside Press that Mexico’s Rodriguez (10-4) had signed a multi-fight deal with the promotion. Terms of the deal have not been announced, but Rodriguez is likely to make her promotional debut prior to the end of the year.
MMA Junkie was first to report the signing.
Rodriguez joined Invicta in 2017 and fought for the organization eight times, capturing the 125 pound title there last year. Winning the belt in a five-round decision against Daiana Torquato in May 2021, she’d repeat her success a second time in an immediate rematch this past March.
In 2019, Rodriguez won the Invicta FC flyweight tournament, picking up a win over current Bellator fighter DeAnna Bennett and avenging a previous loss in the process. That landed her in a fight with then-champ Vanessa Porto, who coincidentally also calls Bellator home these days. Rodriguez missed weight for the fight, however, resulting in it becoming a non-title affair.
Given Rodriguez’s history with Bennett and Porto, there are some intriguing options for her promotional debut. The 36-year old also holds a win over UFC vet Milana Dudieva, while her losses have come to Porto, Bennett, and UFC fighters Alexa Grasso and Poliana Botelho.
