UFC 257: Marina Rodriguez knocks out Amanda Ribas in confusing finish on Fight Island
- Rodriguez walks off thinking referee Herb Dean has called the fight, only for second round to continue
- ‘He came in close, he had his hands out so I thought I was throwing a lot of punches and she wasn’t mobile,’ Brazilian says
Marina Rodriguez got it done – eventually – after a bizarre finish to her UFC 257 main card strawweight bout against Amanda Ribas on Sunday morning.
There was initial confusion on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, when Brazil’s Rodriguez walked off celebrating, having dropped her compatriot with a shot right on the button, and having delivered some follow up ground and pound early in the second round at the Etihad Arena.
The 33-year-old Rodriguez seemed to think referee Herb Dean had called it, but it appeared he had just stumbled over Ribas’ leg, not moved in to stop the fight. Ribas tried to grab a single leg as Rodriguez walked away with her arm in the air, and Dean clearly saw enough to keep things going.
Dean finally stepped in not long after, with Rodriguez (13-1-2) turning back around and landing a couple more huge strikes on the feet to seal the deal at 0:54 in the second.
“I saw that I was finishing the fight, she wasn’t moving and the ref came in with his arms open then I moved away,” Rodriguez said backstage. “I didn’t need to hit her anymore, but when I looked around, there were different screams in the crowd, nobody was coming in so I had to go back in there and finish her again.
“I definitely think this win gets me into the top five,” she added. “I’ll face any of the those girls and my main goal, my main objective is to get to the belt. Guys, now you know who I am.”
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It was a first defeat in the UFC for 27-year-old Ribas (10-2), who had been on a five-fight win streak heading into the match-up, with four straight wins since debuting in the promotion in June 2019.
“I knew I needed to hit her more in the second round and when I landed some punches, I saw that she was shook and that she really felt it, so I knew that’s what I needed to do to get the finish,” Rodriguez said.
“My name was barely mentioned before this fight, but granted, she faced a lot of great competition, she is very popular, but I knew that I would go in there and make my name known.
“I came into the UFC to fight the top-ranked fighters and I hope this win is going to get me over there and I’m always going to keep moving up, whatever the cost may be. I always want to fight because my goal has always been to fight for the belt.”
