Marina Rodriguez announces retirement following knockout loss to Gillian Robertson at UFC Des Moines

Marina Rodriguez is hanging up the gloves after her latest loss.

Gillian Robertson will go down as Rodriguez’s final opponent after handing the Brazilian veteran a second-round TKO loss at UFC Des Moines on Saturday.

Watch Robertson’s ruthless ground-and-pound finish below.

Both women were given mic time afterwards, with Rodriguez taking the moment to announce her retirement after a 25-fight pro career.

“This is my last fight because it’s time,” Rodriguez said. “My heart told me, ‘Marina, it’s time to do something new for this sport.’ So this is my last fight and I want to say thank you so much all MMA fans. You are amazing. Thank you UFC for all the support, thank you boss Dana White. Signing on the Contender Series was the best day of my life.”

Rodriguez, 38, was signed off of the Brazilian version of Dana White’s Contender Series in August 2018 and quickly proved to be a force at 115 pounds. She went 3-0-2 before losing a close split decision to Carla Esparza, then won four straight fights over ranked contenders Amanda Ribas, Michelle Waterson-Gomez, Mackenzie Dern, and Yan Xiaonan. Though a title opportunity eluded her, she did more than enough to garner consideration for the opportunity.

Unfortunately for Rodriguez, Saturday’s loss was her third straight and fifth in her past six outings. She retires with a pro record of 17-6-2.

As for Robertson (16-8), she scores the biggest win of her career. The Canadian has long been known for her exciting finishes, but Rodriguez marks the first top 10 opponent that Robertson has beaten. With the TKO win, Robertson is now tied with Amanda Nunes for the most finishes by a woman in UFC history.

The former flyweight dominated Rodriguez with her grappling before battering her with ground-and-pound strikes to earn the finish at 2:07 of Round 2.

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