Michelle Waterson has her sights set on two fierce strawweights.
Waterson is back on track following a split decision victory over Cortney Casey. “The Karate Hottie” had dropped two bouts in a row to Rose Namajunas and Tecia Torres. Namajunas would go on to capture the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) strawweight title.
Waterson’s last bout took place back in April and she wants at least one more fight before 2018 wraps up. She isn’t eyeing any easy fights either. She’s going straight towards the wolves as she is targeting bouts with Karolina Kowalkiewicz and former strawweight champion Carla Esparza.
Speaking to the media, Waterson said she’s ready to get back inside the Octagon this fall (via MMAJunkie.com):
“We are wanting to get a fight maybe September, October time frame. We don’t have anything scheduled yet. I would love to fight Karolina or Carla Esparza. Those two are the ones I have my eyes on the at the moment. I guess (Kowalkiewicz) is out of the question. (Esparza) is (a good fight).”
Esparza competed against Claudia Gadelha last month. She fell short in the bout via split decision. As for Kowalkiewicz, she’s set for a potential title eliminator against Jessica Andrade. If Esparza and Waterson do battle, then it’ll be a bout between the sixth and seventh ranked UFC strawweights, respectively.
Waterson has gone 3-2 since making her UFC debut. Her first trip to the Octagon was back in July 2015 against Angela Magana. She won the bout via submission. “The Karate Hottie” followed that up with another submission victory over Paige VanZant. After being submitted by Namajunas, she tried her luck against Torres. Waterson fell short via unanimous decision. A split decision win over Casey was Waterson’s first victory since Dec. 2016. It’s her first decision win since Oct. 2012.
Would you like to see Michelle Waterson vs. Carla Esparza?
