Marina Rodriguez vs. Carla Esparza

UFC 7-6-2 vs. 10-6-0

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
7-6-2
UFC record
10-6-0
Women's Strawweight
Division (benchmark)
Women's Strawweight
39
AgeΔ 1 yrs
38
5'6"
HeightΔ 5"
5'1"
65"
ReachΔ 2"
63"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
15.2
Layoff (months)Δ 6.9 mo
22.1
LLLWL
Last 5 (newest first)
LLWWW

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Carla Esparza hunts takedowns — 3.28 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.10 Women's Strawweight norm.
Marina Rodriguez rarely shoots — 0.21 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.10 Women's Strawweight norm.
Carla Esparza owns the mat — in control 28% of cage time, vs a 19% Women's Strawweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Marina Rodriguez

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 86
Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) 10
Tier 3 — regional circuit 80

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.05 · 9 tier-1/2 wins · 8 finish wins over 25 documented bouts

In the UFC: 5-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.7 wins over .500

Carla Esparza

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 108
Tier 3 — regional circuit 90

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.0 · 10 tier-1/2 wins · 8 finish wins over 27 documented bouts

In the UFC: 8-5 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.1 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

9554.41/min · norm 3.77
Sig. strikes landed
4922.19/min · norm 3.77
6543.02/min · norm 3.94
Sig. strikes absorbed
6442.87/min · norm 3.94
45.8%norm 44.5%
Striking accuracy
39.5%norm 44.5%
55.9%norm 54.4%
Striking defense
54.4%norm 54.4%
20.14/15 · norm 0.00
Knockdowns
00.00/15 · norm 0.00

Where the fight happens (share of sig. strike attempts)

Marina Rodriguez

Distance 81.7% (norm 86.9%) · Clinch 13.9% (norm 7.7%) · Ground 4.4% (norm 5.0%)

Carla Esparza

Distance 75.0% (norm 86.9%) · Clinch 8.5% (norm 7.7%) · Ground 16.5% (norm 5.0%)

What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)

Marina Rodriguez

Head 73.1% (norm 76.4%) · Body 16.0% (norm 14.9%) · Legs 10.8% (norm 9.1%)

Carla Esparza

Head 86.0% (norm 76.4%) · Body 8.1% (norm 14.9%) · Legs 5.9% (norm 9.1%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.

Zone Rodriguez L/AAccWomen's Strawweight med Esparza L/AAccWomen's Strawweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 653 / 1703 38.3% 38.3% 280 / 935 29.9% 38.3%
In the clinch 229 / 290 79.0% 72.6% 63 / 106 59.4% 72.6%
On the ground 73 / 91 80.2% 75.0% 149 / 206 72.3% 75.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 552 / 1524 36.2% 35.4% 363 / 1072 33.9% 35.4%
To the body 236 / 334 70.7% 69.3% 71 / 101 70.3% 69.3%
To the legs 167 / 226 73.9% 77.9% 58 / 74 78.4% 77.9%

Zones with fewer than 25 attempts are marked "too few to rate". Each fighter is measured against the median of leaderboard-eligible fighters in his own division (Women's Strawweight: 63 fighters · Women's Strawweight: 63 fighters).

What lands on them Opponents' accuracy against each man

Green ≤ division median — harder to hit than the typical man in his division.

Zone vs Rodriguez L/AOpp accWomen's Strawweight med vs Esparza L/AOpp accWomen's Strawweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 420 / 1152 36.5% 39.7% 409 / 1103 37.1% 39.7%
In the clinch 93 / 137 67.9% 71.5% 53 / 87 60.9% 71.5%
On the ground 141 / 195 72.3% 74.4% 182 / 222 82.0% 74.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 403 / 1112 36.2% 36.0% 473 / 1195 39.6% 36.0%
To the body 146 / 214 68.2% 68.4% 90 / 119 75.6% 68.4%
To the legs 105 / 158 66.5% 79.1% 81 / 98 82.7% 79.1%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
342.9% acc · 0.21/15 · norm 1.10
Takedowns landed
4936.3% acc · 3.28/15 · norm 1.10
4161.2% def · norm 64.1%
Takedowns stopped
1747.2% def · norm 64.1%
11:535.5% of cage time · norm 19.4%
Control time
63:2828.3% of cage time · norm 19.4%
71:064:55 per 15 · norm 3:00
Time under control
32:352:10 per 15 · norm 3:00
40.28/15 · norm 0.29
Submission attempts
40.27/15 · norm 0.29

Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Esparza has more cage time on record.