Rodriguez strikes her way to win over Dern

Marina Rodriguez keeps climbing up the UFC women’s strawweight rankings.

The Brazilian beat highly touted grappler Mackenzie Dern on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 194. Rodriguez (15-1-2 MMA, 5-1-2 UFC) went the distance with Dern (11-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) and took 49-46 across the three judges’ scorecards.

The women’s strawweight bout was the UFC Fight Night 194 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It streamed on ESPN+.

Rodriguez had a great showing ini which she was able to showcase her respected striking skills and resilience on the ground.

Rodriguez put on a striking clinic against Dern and landed kicks and punches almost at will. She was in control for the majority of the fight, but did get tested in two rounds.

Rodriguez had plenty to handle in Round 2, when Dern was able to get hold of her after a failed judo throw. Dern ended up on bottom, but quickly reversed the position and threatened with several submissions. Rodriguez looked to be in trouble at several points, but managed to see the end of the round.

In Round 4, Rodriguez found herself on bottom after a wild scramble toward the end of the round. But Dern was unable to lock up any submissions with little time to work with.

Other than those two times on the canvas, Rodriguez shined on the feet and scored big with volume and precision. Dern was unable to have successful offense in the standup game, which was the story of the fight.

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Rodriguez won for the third straight time on the heels of victories over Amanda Ribas and Michelle Waterson. The Brazilian has just one loss – a split decision to former UFC champion Carla Esparza.

Dern, who was mounting an impressive comeback from her first professional defeat, saw a four-fight winning streak come to an end. The jiu-jitsu standout had three first-round submission wins in her previous four bouts.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 194 results include:

• Marina Rodriguez def. Mackenzie Dern via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)

• Randy Brown def. Jared Gooden via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

• Matheus Nicolau def. Tim Elliott via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

• Mariya Agapova def. Sabina Mazo via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 0:53

• Chris Gutierrez def. Felipe Colares via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 30-27)

• Alexandr Romanov def. Jared Vanderaa via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 4:43

• Damon Jackson def. Charles Rosa via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 30-27)

• Loopy Godinez def. Silvana Gomez Juarez via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 4:14

• Steve Garcia def. Charlie Ontiveros via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 1:51

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Twitter reacts to Marina Rodriguez’s striking clinic on Mackenzie Dern at UFC Fight Night 194