Marina Rodriguez defeats Michelle Waterson in a dominant UFC victory, overcoming her travel woes.

Marina Rodriguez arrived two days later than the rest of the fighters on the card in Las Vegas on Thursday. Thanks to COVID-19, the Brazilian native had difficulty obtaining a visa to enter the United States and spent 20 hours travelling on Wednesday and Thursday mornings.

Marina Rodriguez defeats Michelle Waterson

On Saturday, none of that mattered.

Rodriguez won a unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-46) over Michelle Waterson in the UFC Fight Night main event in Las Vegas, using her Muay Thai punching effectively. It was one of Rodriguez's finest results to date.

"There were so many obstacles, but the most important thing was just armoring my mind," Rodriguez said through a translator after the war. "Our whole team raised our shields. We knew it would be different, and we weren't going to be shaken."

Former bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw was set to face top challenger Cory Sandhagen in the main event on Saturday. Dillashaw, on the other hand, had to withdraw last week due to an injury. The battle will be rescheduled. Rodriguez and Waterson didn't consent to the bout until April 27, and the UFC didn't make it official until this past Tuesday.

Rodriguez chewed up Waterson with wide right hands, knees out of a Thai clinch, and elbows against the cage in the first three rounds. Despite Rodriguez's best efforts, she was unable to free the tenacious Waterson. In the fourth round, Waterson made a big comeback.

In the fourth, Waterson took Rodriguez down and landed huge elbows from half guard. Waterson wobbled Rodriguez with a head kick in the fifth round, causing severe swelling on the left side of her mouth. Waterson then delivered a body kick to Rodriguez's side, clearly injuring him. Rodriguez was able to score a late head kick that hurt Waterson in the final, eventful round.

Rodriguez was ranked No. 6 in the world at strawweight by ESPN, while Waterson was ranked No. 9 by ESPN. "We were able to come in, demonstrate the work we did, and get the victory even with everything going against us," Rodriguez said of overcoming her pre-fight travel turmoil.

Rodriguez also said that her next fight will be against a top-three opponent, possibly Joanna Jedrzejczyk, and that she believes she is on the verge of a title shot.

The fight took place at the UFC Apex, which is located across the street from the promotion's corporate headquarters, with COVID-19 protocols in practise.

Rodriguez (14-1-2) has only lost one of his seven UFC fights and has now won two in a row. In January, the Muay Thai expert had defeated prospect Amanda Ribas in the second round by TKO. Rodriguez, 34, has only lost once in the UFC, to former champion Carla Esparza, but has drawn twice with Cynthia Calvillo and Randa Markos.

Waterson (18-9) is a former Invicta FC atomweight champion and one of the UFC's most successful female fighters. "The Karate Hottie," who fought out of New Mexico, was coming off a split decision victory over Angela Hill last September, which ended a two-fight losing streak. Waterson, 35, has won four of his last six fights.

"[Waterson] has a lot of experience," Rodriguez commented. "That was the only thing I learned before I arrived.. That was [around the same time] as my first Muay Thai lesson, when she was the Invicta champion. I, too, looked up to her. I had a feeling she was a tough cookie. It's an incredible accomplishment for my career to go five rounds with her and win."