Saturday, of course, is Rodriguez’s latest main event slot versus Amanda Lemos at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. There are those who would argue Rodriguez was already at the front of the line for a strawweight title shot. Her lone pro loss was a debated split decision to the current champion, Esparza, and she’d knocked off both strawweight contenders last featured in a main event: Mackenzie Dern and Yan Xiaonan. So why take such a dangerous fight against another rising contender like Lemos when she might just as easily have sat at home and waited for the phone to ring after UFC 281?
VEGAS FREE FIGHTS: Amanda Lemos vs Michelle Waterson-Gomez | Marina Rodriguez vs Amanda Ribas
„I agree with all of them,” she says of the voices that think she’s already done enough for a title shot. “But the UFC runs the show. I only have to do my job, which is to win fights until I get to the belt. Words won’t take me there; we have to prove it inside of the Octagon. We took this fight that doesn’t make much sense in terms of ranking, but we’re here to do our job and make our way towards the belt.”
Regardless of the reasoning for putting herself in harm’s way this Saturday, fans will be the true winners in what promises to be one of the great bouts the division has seen in recent years. While both fighters have submission victories on their résumés and are comfortable if the fight goes to the mat, both have also arrived at this moment in large part on the strength of some swift and lethal striking. If the fight stays on the feet, the recipe for Fight of the Night will have all its ingredients.
