Sam Hughes will have her third UFC fight of the year in the prelims of UFC Vegas 62. She will take on Piera Rodriguez. The event will be headlined by top-ranked female flyweights Viviane Araujo and Alexa Grasso.
As fans know, this event will take place inside the Apex facility in Las Vegas. Unlike the last UFC Apex card, this particular event will feature fans in the stands and will have media inside the arena.
Piera Rodriguez is the former LFA strawweight champion. She defeated Svetlana Gotsyk to capture the belt in April of 2021. However, she immediately jumped ship to UFC as Rodriguez had the opportunity to fight at Dana White‘s Contender Series in October of the same year. She beat Valesca Machado at DWCS and earned the opportunity to fight in the UFC.
Piera Rodriguez will fight Sam Hughes at UFC event on October 15th. (per @CCLegaspi) #UFC #MMA #UFCESPN pic.twitter.com/5ud8Oo7Hss
— Marcel Dorff 🇳🇱🇮🇩 (@BigMarcel24) July 8, 2022
She had a positive start to her UFC career as the former LFA champ defeated Kay Hansen. She will go up against a 5-fight UFC veteran, Sam Hughes next. As mentioned previously, this will be Sam’s third fight this year after beating Istela Nunes and Elise Reed in her previous two fights. So both fighters have momentum behind them. Who will prevail this Saturday? Let’s find out.
UFC Fight Night Prelims, Piera Rodriguez vs Sam Hughes: Stats
Stats | Piera Rodriguez | Sam Hughes |
---|---|---|
Wins | 8 | 7 |
Losses | 0 | 4 |
Height | 1.6 m | 1.65 m |
Division | Women’s Strawweight | Women’s Strawweight |
Reach | 161.3 cm | 162.6 cm |
Age | 29 | 30 |
Rodriguez vs Hughes: Fight Breakdown
Sam Hughes was almost on the verge of being let go by the UFC in 2021. She had lost all of her first three fights in the promotion. However, her excellent form this year and her experience inside the Octagon have saved her from being axed. In her last fight, she beat Elise Reed with some brutal ground and pound. As a matter of fact, the majority of her wins have come via stoppage.
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Nicknamed Sampage, Hughes has 3 submission wins and 2 wins via stoppage. The 30-year-old averages 3.77 strikes per 60 seconds while absorbing 4.73. It explains her TKO loss to Tecia Torres on her UFC debut. But she also has the skills to take her opponents down with a takedown average of 1.41 per fight. So her goal will be secure an early takedown against Piera Rodriguez.
However, Rodriguez has never tasted defeat in her career so far. She has 5 KO/TKO wins in her carer and has remained unbeaten. So finding a way around her offence would be the key for Sam. But Piera Rodriguez is relatively fresh blood and is only 5-years into her career. She has held a title in a respected promotion.
On top of that, Sam Hughes’ stats prove that she is susceptible to getting hit with a flurry of punches in a short amount of time. If she can’t find a cure for it, Piera Rodriguez is all set to start her UFC run with a win this weekend.