Marina Rodriguez thinks Tatiana Suarez’s path to the UFC strawweight title needs go through her.
After delivering a statement performance in a bloody second-round TKO of Michelle Waterson-Gomez at UFC Fight Night 228 on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Rodriguez (18-3-2 MMA, 7-3-2 UFC) made it clear she wants a matchup with undefeated contender Suarez (10-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC).
Although many believe Suarez is already worthy of challenging current 115-pound champion Zhang Weili, the Brazilian is not part of that group, and said a title eliminator between them is the way to go.
“I just feel I have some shots to shoot,” Rodriguez told MMA Junkie and other outlets through an interpreter at the UFC Fight Night 228 post-fight news conference. “Because I need to hit bullseye. I really need to get some fights that will actually position me to put me and reroute me towards the championship. … She is undefeated. Stopped fighting for a while, comes back still undefeated. So I do feel like I deserve that fight and it should happen.”
At 36, Rodriguez is likely entering the point in her career where she needs to make something happen now if she hopes to make her title aspirations come true. She entered UFC Fight Night 228 with back-to-back losses vs. Virna Jandiroba and Amanda Lemos, and she needed to do something to draw attention back on her side.
After beating Waterson-Gomez by unanimous decision in their first meeting in May 2021, Rodriguez delivered on her promise to make things more emphatic in the rematch, and now she’s looking upward.
“I am this athlete who is always going to push forward, always go for the finish, always want to be a champion,” Rodriguez said. “Since the day I started here, to continue to go on, to continue to be aggressive and push forward to actually go out there and look for that title.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 228.
