The Ultimate Fighting Championship remained at UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada tonight for UFC Fight Night 177: “Waterson vs Hill.” The card was headlined by a strawweight contender’s bout between former Invicta FC titleholders Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson and Angela “Overkill” Hill.
In the lightweight co-main event, Ottman “Bulldozer” Azaitar squared off against Khama “The Deathstar” Worthy. Elsewhere on tonight’s main card, Roxanne “The Happy Warrior” Modafferi took on Andrea “KGB” Lee in a flyweight rematch. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the card.
Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson vs Angela “Overkill” Hill
Round 1:
Hill struck first with an overhand right and a one-two. She backed Waterson up with a subsequent combination and cracked her with an overhand right. The fighters traded punches and briefly clinched, with Waterson breaking free with an elbow. Hill continued to move forward with two- and three-punch combos and Waterson countered with a hard leg kick. She shot in for a takedown and Hill stuffed it. Knees were exchanged in a brief clinch and Hill landed a quick flurry. Waterson responded with a front kick to the face. Hill landed short punches in a clinch and followed with a switch kick to the body before the bell. 10-9 Hill.
Round 2:
Both fighters landed leg and body kicks in the opening minute of round two. Hill jabbed and shrugged off a takedown attempt. Waterson remained effective with a variety of kicks, but Hill stunned her with a counter right hook. Waterson regained her footing and looked for a single-leg takedown, but Hill defended and backed Waterson up against the cage. Both women landed front kicks to the body after separating and Hill followed with a lead left hook. Waterson rushed forward with a barrage of punches and Hill countered with two elbows in a clinch as Waterson’s left eye and forehead began to swell up. Close second round. 10-9 Hill.
Round 3:
Hill landed a combination early in the third round and both women scored with kicks to the upper body. Power punches were exchanged and Waterson began to bleed from the nose. She clinched and tripped Hill to the mat. Hill countered with short elbows from the bottom as Waterson’s nose bled all over the mat. Waterson landed short elbows until Hill tried to scramble up to her feet against the cage. Waterson nearly took her back but had to settle for top control again in Hill’s half-guard. In the final seconds, Hill regained full guard as Waterson punched from the top. Hill landed an inadvertent illegal upkick and was warned just before the bell sounded. 10-9 Waterson.
Round 4:
Hill opened the fourth round with a hard flurry that prompted Waterson to look for a takedown. Hill stuffed it and she landed jabs to Waterson’s damaged left eye. Waterson landed a step-in elbow and a front kick to the body, then followed with two side kicks. Both fighters scored with overhand rights and Waterson followed with more body kicks. Hill stuffed two takedowns and a clinch followed against the cage. Hill broke free with a body kick, but Waterson responded with a side kick to the midsection that backed her up. She followed with a kick to Hill’s face and an axe kick soon after. The fighters clinched and Hill threw short punches, then a lunging one-two at the bell. 10-9 Waterson.
Round 5:
Waterson caught a kick and tried to take Hill down to begin round five, but Hill cracked her with four punches before backing away. Both women landed body kicks and Waterson followed with quick jabs. Hill closed in with a combination, but Waterson responded with a short elbow and two more side kicks to the body. She finished a punching flurry with a leg kick, but was once again unable to take Hill down. Hill fought off another takedown attempt and landed a hard right hand. A four-punch flurry landed for Hill and she followed with two hard right hands as Waterson responded with a variety of kicks. Waterson landed punches and a leg kick, which were answered by a barrage of punches from Hill and both women landed heavy shots at the bell. Extremely close fight. 10-9 Hill, barely. Decision could go either way.
Winner: Michelle Waterson by Split Decision (49-46, 48-47, 47-48) after five rounds. She improves to 18-8-0.
Ottman “Bulldozer” Azaitar vs Khama “The Deathstar” Worthy
Round 1:
Worthy jabbed early in the fight and Azaitar responded with a combination. The fighters circled each other until Azaitar countered a leg kick with two big hooks that stunned Worthy. Azaitar swarmed on him with hooks and uppercuts until Worthy fell face-first to the mat. He got to his knees and Azaitar continued to blast him with punches until the brief fight was stopped.
Winner: Ottman Azaitar by TKO (Punches) at 1:33 of round one. He improves to 13-0-0.
Roxanne “The Happy Warrior” Modafferi vs Andrea “KGB” Lee
Round 1:
Time was called early in the fight when Lee’s mouthpiece fell out, but action resumed and both women fought off takedowns from the other. Lee landed leg kicks and Modafferi chased after her with punches. Lee countered with a headlock throw and she worked from the top in Modafferi’s half-guard. Modafferi scrambled up and she scored a takedown of her own. She looked to set up an arm-triangle choke and settled for short punches from Lee’s half-guard. Lee got to her knees and Modafferi threw elbows and hammerfists to the side of her head. Lee escaped into back control, but Modafferi stood up and the round ended in a clinch. 10-9 Modafferi.
Round 2:
Modafferi pressed forward with punches to begin round two and Lee countered with a head kick that was partially blocked. She landed a quick combination and a body kick, which led to an exchange of one-twos. Modafferi scored with a lead left hook and followed with a straight right. She backed Lee up with a combination and Lee fired back with a lunging left hand. She followed with a knee and defended against a takedown attempt by throwing Modafferi to the mat. Modafferi stood and Lee hip-tossed her to the ground. She landed punches from the top as Modafferi stood up. Lee walked forward and landed a spinning back elbow and hard left and right hooks. Modafferi caught a body kick and she took Lee down, but Lee struck from the bottom with elbows until the bell. 10-9 Lee.
Round 3:
Both women landed combinations early in the final round and Lee mixed things up with kicks and lead left hooks to the body. Modafferi jabbed and circled on the outside as Lee pawed out with left hands. Modafferi ducked under a spinning back elbow from Lee and took her down into half-guard. She peppered Lee with short punches to the face and body. Lee stood against the cage and Modafferi tripped her again. She continued to throw short left hands as Lee began to bleed from the nose. Modafferi punched from the top until Lee secured a sweep just as time expired. 10-9 Modafferi.
Winner: Roxanne Modafferi by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. She improves to 25-17-0.
Ed “Short Fuse” Herman vs “Slow” Mike Rodriguez
Round 1:
Herman kicked at Rodriguez’s lead leg in the opening seconds and the fighters exchanged straight punches. Rodriguez appeared to hurt himself while throwing a leg kick, but he recovered quickly and countered a clinch with two knees to the body. Herman threw punches over the top and Rodriguez landed a hard elbow in return. Herman held him against the fence, but it was Rodriguez who landed short punches and elbows over the top. Herman backed away and Rodriguez hurt him with a standing elbow. Herman stumbled backwards and Rodriguez followed with punches in a clinch. Herman recovered and he landed two overhand rights after the fighters separated. Herman clinched once more late in the round and Rodriguez held him against the cage. 10-9 Rodriguez.
Round 2:
Herman pressed forward with a lead left hook and a leg kick to begin round two, which led to a clinch against the fence. Both men landed knees to the body and Rodriguez reversed the clinch. He threw two hard knees to the body and Herman tried to trip him to the mat. He managed to get Rodriguez down, but Rodriguez rose to his feet within seconds. The fighters separated and Rodriguez landed a huge kick to the body. The fighters traded one-twos and clinched again, with Rodriguez holding Herman against the cage again. He hurt Herman with a knee to the chest, but referee Chris Tognoni called for a timeout and incorrectly deemed the knee strike to be a low blow. Action eventually continued and Rodriguez dropped Herman with a knee and an elbow in the final seconds. 10-9 Rodriguez.
Round 3:
In the final round, Herman closed the distance and worked for a takedown, but Rodriguez countered with elbows to his temples. Herman eventually fell to the ground and Rodriguez attacked with punches and elbows from the top in half-guard. Herman countered with a deep kimura that he used to sweep into top position. He cranked on Rodriguez’s arm until Rodriguez tapped out. Incredible comeback win for Herman, but one that is marred by Chris Tognoni’s botched timeout in the second round.
Winner: Ed Herman by Submission (Kimura) at 4:01 of round three. He improves to 26-14-0, 1 NC.
Bobby “King” Green vs Alan Patrick “Nuguette” Silva Alves
Round 1:
Alves ran at Green right away and tried for a takedown, but Green reversed and pushed him down to the mat. From the top in Alves’s half-guard, Green landed short elbows until Alves scrambled up to his feet. Green slammed him down again and landed in side control. He postured up with two right hands and looked to take Alves’s back. Alves stood and the fighters traded knees to the body. Green landed more knees and he took Alves down. Alves attacked with a triangle armbar and Green had to act quickly to spin and escape. He wound up on top in Alves’s half-guard and landed short punches. Alves regained full guard and Green landed two elbows. Alves kicked him off and stood up before the bell. 10-9 Green.
Round 2:
Green scored another takedown early in the second round and he eventually passed to half-guard. Alves countered Green’s short punches on the ground by looking for a kimura, and he exploded up to his feet soon after. Green prevented Alves from clinching and so Alves resorted to leg kicks from a distance. Green avoided another takedown attempt and ducked under Alves’s looping punches. A counter uppercut and a knee to the body scored for Green as Alves continued to pursue takedowns. 10-9 Green.
Round 3:
The final round began with Green taking Alves down into side control. Alves battled back to his feet and he briefly took Green down against the base of the cage. Green stood and he punched his way into a clinch. After landing two knees to the body, Green backed away and Alves landed a head kick. He dumped Green to the mat, but Green stood up immediately and flurried with hard punches. Alves retreated and Green landed a right hook and a leg kick. He cracked Alves with a huge right hook soon after and Alves backed up once more. Green walked him down and landed lunging hooks before time expired. 10-9 Green.
Winner: Bobby Green by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 27-10-1.
Billy Quarantillo vs Kyle “The Monster” Nelson
Round 1:
Heavy punches were exchanged throughout the opening minute and Nelson mixed in kicks to the body. The fighters continued to trade punches and Nelson took Quarantillo’s back in a clinch against the cage. He tried to suplex Quarantillo to the mat, but Quarantillo defended and stayed on his feet. Nelson landed a hard right hand and the fighters separated. Quarantillo moved forward with one-two combos and he mixed in leg kicks. Nelson landed a quick combo in return, but Quarantillo took him down and threw punches to Nelson’s face as Nelson got back to his feet. Time was called when Nelson was kneed in the groin. Action resumed and both men landed combinations late in the competitive round. 10-9 Quarantillo.
Round 2:
The pace remained high in the second round and both men landed hard punches, with Nelson mixing in body kicks once again. Quarantillo worked for a takedown against the cage until he was finally able to get Nelson down. Nelson stood back up almost immediately and both men landed elbows before breaking away. Quarantillo quickly clinched again and he scored with a hard knee to the body and two elbows. Quarantillo followed with an elbow and he forced Nelson to retreat with a series of looping hooks to the head and body. He hurt Nelson late in the round with punches, then reversed a takedown attempt and blasted Nelson with more heavy shots before the bell. 10-9 Quarantillo.
Round 3:
Quarantillo used two jabs to set up a massive overhand right to begin the final round and Nelson collapsed face-first to the canvas, ending the fight in emphatic fashion.
Winner: Billy Quarantillo by KO (Punch) at 0:07 of round three. He improves to 15-2-0.
(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)