An all-action battle in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s talent-rich
strawweight division will treat the fans in April.
The UFC
announced on Friday that Jessica
Andrade (25-12) would be coming to blows with fellow striker
Marina
Rodriguez (17-3-2) at UFC
300. The two women will collide at strawweight in a key tilt in
that division on April 13, with their clash taking place at the
T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Given the nature of the lineup, it is
unclear if their battle will be placed on the main card or
prelims.
Former champ Andrade bounced around the flyweight and strawweight
divisions the last few years, fighting for the 125-pound strap
after losing her 115-pound belt. In 2023, “Bate Estaca” competed
five times—more than any other competitor—although she bookended
her year with wins while suffering three straight defeats in the
middle. Andrade ran roughshod over Lauren
Murphy before running into the buzzsaw that is Erin
Blanchfield, suffering a deflating loss that had her move back
to strawweight. A pair of tilts in that weight class did not go
well either, when Xiaonan Yan
punched her out and Tatiana
Suarez tapped her out. The Brazilian rebounded in style in
November 2023, when she busted up Mackenzie
Dern at UFC 295.
Rodriguez, on the other hand, only competed twice in 2023,
splitting the year with a loss to Virna
Jandiroba and a second-round destruction of Michelle
Waterson-Gomez to end things on a high note. Before a pair of
losses to Lemos and the aforementioned Jandiroba, the muay thai
striker had strung together four straight victories over Amanda
Ribas, Waterson-Gomez, Dern and Yan to place her in
championship contention at 115 pounds.
UFC 300 on April 13 still has no headliner, although there is
currently one championship bout on the billing as Weili Zhang
puts her strawweight crown on the line against Yan. Additionally,
the UFC has scheduled a “BMF” title tilt between Justin
Gaethje and Max
Holloway in the lightweight division. Other fights on the
overstuffed lineup include a bantamweight battle between Holly Holm
and Kayla
Harrison, a lightweight title eliminator between Charles
Oliveira and Arman
Tsarukyan and a light heavyweight rumble pitting Jiri
Prochazka against Aleksandar
Rakic.