What’s Next For Marina Rodriguez?

UFC Vegas 64 went down this past weekend (Sat., Nov. 5, 2022) inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, leaving plenty of fighters feeling the post-fight blues. Among them was Daniel Rodriguez, who was submitted by Neil Magny in the co-main event of the evening (see it again here). And Darrick Minner, who suffered his third straight defeat after he was stopped by Shayilan Nuerdanbieke in the first round. But, which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover, now a few days removed from the show?

Marina Rodriguez.

Coming into her headlining fight against Amanda Lemos, Rodriguez was one more victory away from sealing her trip to a championship fight against the winner of division queenpin, Carla Esparza, and Zhang Weili, which goes down at UFC 281 on Nov. 12, 2022, in New York City.

The fight was pretty competitive throughout the first two rounds, but in the third frame, Lemos cracked Rodriguez with a powerful right hand that rocked her for a second. Smelling blood, Lemos pounced on her Brazilian counterpart and unloaded with an impressive and accurate barrage of punches that forced the official on duty to step in and put an end to the fight.

But, was it too soon? Rodriguez seems to think so.

“You stopped too soon! As a professional, I’m there to face a lot more, that’s what I’m in this game,” wrote an upset Rodriguez on social media soon after the event. “It’s part of the game, win, lose, in different situations! We continue in our way! Thank you all for the support and cheerleading,” she concluded.

We wouldn’t expect anything different — almost all fighters want to go out on their shields, but it seems this stoppage was warranted because the end was coming even if it went for a few more seconds.

Nevertheless, It’s a devastating setback for Rodriguez, who will now have to work her way up to to get back in the mix. It took her three years to get where she is today, but the 35-year-old would love for the process to happen sooner rather than later.

A fight — and subsequent win — against former division champion, Rose Namajunas, could expedite that process. “Thug Rose” is coming off a tough loss at the hands of the aforementioned Carla Esparza in what was truly a forgettable title fight (see it again here, if you dare).

That being said, Namajunas is still ranked No. 1 in the division, and it would be a huge notch on Rodriguez’s belt if she can get the win. For “Thug Rose,” handing Rodriguez her second straight defeat could get her fast-tracked back into title contention.

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For complete UFC Vegas 64 results and highlights click here.