Hughes’ career in the UFC thus far has been a tale of two different situations.
Her first three fights came when she was training in Washington state, working with the same crew that helped her go 4-1 to start her pro career and earn a short-notice call-up to face Tecia Torres in the first place. But she struggled out of the chute, losing her debut against Torres as a result of an eye injury before dropping decisions to both Loma Lookboonmee and Luana Pinheiro.
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Following her November 2021 loss to the Brazilian DWCS grad, Hughes relocated to the Dallas-Fort Worth area and began training at Fortis MMA. She didn’t move in order to change teams — it was a personal decision driven by being closer to family — however switching camps and connecting with Sayif Said and the crew in Dallas has certainly paid clear dividends.
In her first appearance of this year, Hughes rallied to defeat Istela Nunes by majority decision, bolstered by a confidence-building talk between rounds from “The General.” A month later, the former collegiate track athlete collected a second consecutive victory, finishing Elise Reed in the third round to earn her first UFC stoppage win. She’s clearly found a home and a group that is helping her unlock her potential at Fortis MMA, and now she returns looking to make it three straight when she takes on Piera Rodriguez on Saturday.
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“La Fiera” is an undefeated 29-year-old who has trained at various quality gyms around the globe during her career, including Lilius Barnatt Martial Arts in Malaga, Blackhouse in Los Angeles, and Allstars Training Center in Stockholm, where she prepared for this encounter.
A member of the DWCS Class of ’21, Rodriguez out-hustled Kay Hansen in her promotional debut earlier this year, pushing her record to 8-0 and establishing herself as someone to track in the 115-pound weight class in the process.
Hughes enters as the underdog here, but has shown considerable improvement since moving to Texas, and a win over Rodriguez this weekend would show she’s finally settled in and ready to make some real waves going forward.
