By Carlos Arias, MMA writer for OC Register and friend of FightTicker.com

IRVINE - Former International Female Boxing Association flyweight champion Wendy Rodriguez has been in the ring with some of the top female boxers in the world, compiling an 18-3 record in the process.

But she also has been studying Jiu-Jitsu over the past five years, and she decided to combine those skills and make her mixed martial arts debut in one of the featured fights at “SpringFist I” on Sunday afternoon in front of 1,189 at the Irvine Marriott.

Rodriguez didn’t even get a chance to show her boxing skills, submitting Heather Basquil (1-2) of Arlington Kickboxing in 38 seconds.

“It was about time,” Rodriguez said of her MMA debut. “I wasn’t getting any fights in boxing, so I had to find a challenge somewhere else.”

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