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UFC 272 is set to get going this weekend from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, March 5th. There is a five-bout main card highlighted by a welterweight bout between Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal, but there’s plenty of action earlier in the day. ESPN and ESPN+ will host the preliminary card on Saturday, where you can watch #3 Marina Rodriguez vs. #4 Yan Xiaonan in a women’s strawweight bout.
Rodriguez enters with a 15-1-2 professional fighting record. She rose up the ranks of the women’s strawweight division by coming away with victories in all three of her fights in 2021. Most recently, she was victorious against Mackenzie Dern by unanimous decision in October of 2021. A victory here would likely spell a title shot against Rose Namajunas in her next match. She is the favorite with -260 odds.
Xiaonan enters with a 13-2 record in her professional fighting career. She doesn’t have the momentum that Rodriguez has as she is coming off a loss in her last bout. She took a second-round knockout against Carla Esparaza in May of 2021. Xiaonan hadn’t lost since September of 2010 so it will be interesting to see how she responds. A victory here, similar to Rodriguez, could result in a title shot towards the end of this year. Xiaonan is the underdog for this fight with +210 odds.
How to watch Rodriguez vs. Xiaonan
Date: Saturday, March 5th
Fight time: Preliminary card starts at 8:00 p.m. ET
Live stream: ESPN and ESPN+ via WatchESPN or the ESPN app
DraftKings Sportsbook Odds/Predictions
Rodriguez: -260
Xiaonan: +210
Splits: 88% of handle, 91% of bets on Marina Rodriguez
These splits, like the odds, seem to be favoring Rodriguez. She has won her last three fights, although her last two were by unanimous decision. Xiaonan is coming off just the second loss of her career, but it was a knockout so the public is obviously concerned about her ability to bounce back. For a fight between two, top-five competitors in their weight division it seems the public is assuming this one is going to be fairly lopsided. I think Rodriguez gets off her skid of decision victories and ends this one before the final bell.
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