After three rounds, evidence of Marina Rodriguez’s size and power was written on the face of Jessica Aguilar.
Only a point deduction slowed down Rodriguez (11-0-1 MMA, 1-0-1 UFC) as she battered Aguilar (20-8 MMA, 1-4 UFC) over three rounds to take home a unanimous decision with scores of 29-26, 29-27, 29-27.
The women’s strawweight bout closed out the preliminary card of today’s UFC on ESPN 2 event at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. It aired on ESPN following additional prelims on ESPN+ and ahead of the main card on ESPN.
The fight barely had gotten started when a thumb to the eye brought the cageside doctor in to check on Aguilar. The inadvertent foul hardly slowed the ex-champ down as she drove for a takedown. But Rodriguez bloodied her with a shot inside before she was able to get the fight to the ground. Rodriguez powered into a reversal and tried to slam her way out of an armbar. Instead, she put herself deeper in the submission hold. Aguilar went belly down and cranked for dear life, only to stalemate as Rodriguez pulled free.
After referee Keith Peterson separated them, another inadvertent eye-poke cost Rodriguez a point. She quickly turned the tables on the restart, dropping Aguilar with a right hook before time ran out.
Rodriguez’s counter-striking and size continued to make life miserable for Aguilar in the second frame. The clinch allowed her to control against the fence, and her long limbs gave her free reign to land strikes at distance.
Aguilar employed an overhand right to close the distance and boxed inside. But in the clinch, Rodriguez battered Aguilar with elbows. A teep to the midsection brought a full-fledged retreat from Aguilar. Rodriguez appeared seconds from a stoppage as she landed knees and elbows at will, tossing Aguilar to the mat as time expired.
Leaking blood from her nose, Aguilar had one last shot to even the scores. Repeated kicks to the body put her on the cage early, and a head kick was on target. Aguilar continued to fire and land her overhand right. She waded through every kick and elbow thrown her way. It just wasn’t enough to overcome her opponent’s range and power.
After a draw against Randa Markos in her octagon debut, Rodriguez now has her first UFC wink, while Aguilar now drops to 1-3 in the promotion.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 2 results include:
- Marina Rodriguez def. Jessica Aguilar via unanimous decision (29-26, 29-27, 29-27)
- Desmond Green def. Ross Pearson via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 2:52
- Kevin Aguilar def. Enrique Barzola via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Kevin Holland def. Gerald Meerschaert via split decision (29-27, 28-29, 30-27)
- Casey Kenney def. Ray Borg via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Maryna Moroz def. Sabina Mazo via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Alex Perez def. Mark De La Rosa via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
For complete coverage of UFC on ESPN 2, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
