7. Critical Crossroads for Andrade and Rodriguez
UFC 300’s all Brazilian battle on the prelims will feature not only two of the best strawweights in the world today, it will feature two fighters who know how critical a moment it is.
Jessica Andrade has been to the summit before, completing the journey she began as a top prospect making her UFC debut at 21 years-old back in 2013. Marina Rodriguez has been on the precipice as well, going on a four fight win-streak that includes a victory over UFC 300 title challenger Yan Xiaonan before she was upset in a title eliminator.
But setbacks have thrown cold water on the blazing streaks that propelled them to elite status in the first place. While they are both coming off wins, the strawweight division has seen a level of turnover in recent years. Both of them have been stopped by fighters currently ranked ahead of them and there are other contenders who would be considered ahead of them for a shot at the title regardless of how impressive they are in victory.
For the 36 year-old Rodriguez, time may be less on her side than Andrade. But at a time when there’s more interest at 115 pounds, the former champion doesn’t want to drop to 1-4 in her last five if she is intent on getting gold wrapped around her waist again.
Read storylines 6-4 here.
Read storylines 3-1 here.
