Sherdog Prospect Watch: Piera Rodriguez

UFC 273 will see the debut of Piera Rodriguez in the Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s strawweight division. Rodriguez faces Kay Hansen as part of the undercard and hopes to become the latest Venezuelan to nail down a victory inside the Octagon, following in the footsteps of Omar Morales and Veronica Macedo. The 29-year-old carries a perfect 7-0 record, with five wins by knockout or technical knockout. Rodriguez’s opponents feature a cumulative .588 winning percentage (30-21).

A former Legacy Fighting Alliance titleholder, Rodriguez has a solid chin and loves to invite her opponents to trade shots openly. She likes staying on her feet and dragging counterparts into brawls, and while her volume seems relatively low when compared to other 115-pound fighters, her strikes carry considerable impact whenever they land. Rodriguez’s nickname, “La Fiera,” literally means “The Beast.” When the action moves to the floor, she usually works from above, improving her position before unloading heavy shots on her adversaries. She adopts a traditional guard, but she does not mind going unorthodox at times, especially to counter with the hook.



Rodriguez made her professional debut in May 2017, when she took on Karol Ximena Naranjo Lopez at an Ultimate Combat Challenge event and forced a doctor stoppage at the end of the second round. The first part of the Venezuelan’s career saw her compete against opponents who either barely broke .500 or featured losing records. Still, after piecing together five straight wins, she was granted a shot at the vacant Legacy Fighting Alliance women’s strawweight championship at LFA 105, where she faced Svetlana Gotsyk on April 23, 2021. While the level of competition increased sharply for Rodriguez, she proved herself as one of the most exciting 115-pound prospects outside the UFC. For four-plus rounds, “La Fiera” cut through Gotsyk’s guard with punches; and in the fifth, Rodriguez reversed a takedown attempt, progressed to the Ukrainian’s back and hammered away with punches to force the stoppage at the 1:16 mark.


In her most recent appearance, Rodriguez fought for a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series, where she faced off against Brazil’s Valesca Machado. Rodriguez was quite elusive, attacked from afar with punches and mixed in some takedown attempts to disrupt her opponent’s rhythm. Machado enjoyed a strong third round in terms of striking, but Rodriguez ended the match in top position and punished the Shooto Brazil veteran from full mount. Ultimately, all three judges rewarded Rodriguez with 29-28 scores and sent her onto the UFC roster.

BetUS.com is offering our listeners an incredible 125% bonus on their deposit for UFC 273. Use code SHERDOG and get $2,500 in extra money to make fight night even better.