Michelle Waterson Submits Angela Magana At TUF 21 FinaleFormer Invicta FC atomweight ace Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson picked up her biggest strawweight victory to date in her much-anticipated UFC debut tonight at The Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale in Las Vegas, Nevada. Waterson submitted Angela “Your Majesty” Magana in the third round.

Tonight’s victory was a crucial one for Waterson, who moved back up to 115 pounds for the first time since April 2010. She survived an early armbar scare from Magana and took control of the ground battles as the fight progressed before ultimately finishing Magana with a rear-naked choke.

 

Waterson (13-4-0) countered an early clinch by throwing Magana (11-8-0) to the mat, but Magana remained active from the bottom and she chained together armbar attempts. Her second effort allowed her to wrench back on Waterson’s arm, but Waterson showed huge heart by refusing to tap and she eventually escaped from Magana’s grasp. The fighters stood and Waterson secured a takedown into mount. She threatened with an armbar of her own shortly before the end of the entertaining first round.

In the second stanza, Waterson kept Magana on the defensive by landing a variety of kicks, punching combinations and knees. Magana caught a kick and took her down, but Waterson countered with an armbar and she used it to sweep into mount. Waterson spent the remainder of the round striking from top position and she attempted an armbar in the dying seconds.

Waterson dropped Magana with a head kick to begin the final round, but she allowed her to stand and suplexed her down to the mat soon after. She took Magana’s back and flattened her out, then landed punches that set up a fight-ending rear-naked choke that forced Magana to submit.

While she remains early in her UFC career, Waterson is one of the most personable and marketable fighters on the UFC roster. She has her sights set on contending for the UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship and took an important step towards the title with tonight’s key win. She has posted victories in seven of her past eight fights.

Winner: Michelle Waterson by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 2:38 of round three. She improves to 13-4-0.

 

 

(Photo Credit: UFC)

  1. Nice stoppage win for Waterson in her UFC debut. Never an easy task first time out, much less moving up a class in weight. Boy is the UFC Straw weight division stacked.