The Ultimate Fighting Championship will finally say its farewell to the beaches of Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, as Fight Island hosts its final event this weekend for UFC Fight Night 174 on July 25. An exciting women’s Strawweight fight between Carla Esparza and Marina Rodriguez acts as the lone women’s fight of the main card which starts at 8PM ET. With the former champ Esparza listed as significant underdog by some bookmakers, find out if there’s an upset in the cards for some big winnings in our Carla Esparza vs Marina Rodriguez betting prediction for UFC Fight Night 174
Despite being the inaugural champion of the Women’s strawweight division, Esparza has historically been unpopular in the eyes’ of the bookmakers. She has been the underdog in three of her last fights and has never been highly regarded or considered elite. The trend continues with this fight as she is listed as the +134 underdog among bookmakers like 888sport with Rodriguez listed as the -167 favorite. I think there’s an opportunity here with an underdog bet. Esparza has won her last three fights and is oozing with confidence probably thinking she has turned the corner. She can further solidify that belief with a win over highly touted up and comer Marina Rodriguez.
Rodriguez’s last fight against Cynthia Calvillo ended in a draw but she displayed her tremendous Muay Thai skills along the way. She caught Calvillo with some nice elbows and knees from the clinch and only came up short of the W because of Calvillo’s takedowns. She also struggled with wrestling in her other draw against Randa Markos. Unfortunately for Rodriguez wrestling is Esparza’s background and the foundation of her MMA. The draw against Calvillo will serve as the perfect blue print for Esparza who saw exactly how to win rounds against the dangerous Muay Thai practitioner that is Rodriguez. Esparza is also experienced enough to take advantage of this weakness and will look to take Marina down right from the onset and will take control of most of the fight. She won’t get the early stoppage but she will likely do enough to win in at least two of the judge’s scorecards for a Split Decision win.
