“The Karate Hottie” is booked for her first UFC fight.
Michelle Waterson will debut against Angela Magana at The Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale on July 12 in a Florida city yet to be named, the UFC announced Wednesday night. Ariel Helwani reported Waterson’s signing with the UFC on UFC Tonight earlier this week.
Waterson (12-4) was arguably Invicta’s biggest star before her contract ran out after her last fight against Herica Tiburcio in December. The Jackson-Winkeljohn MMA product lost that bout in the third round via submission. It was her first defeat in five years. Waterson, 29, will move up from 105 pounds to 115 for the first time as she enters the UFC. The Colorado native already owns a win over highly ranked women’s strawweight Jessica Penne.
Magana (11-7) became infamous during her run on The Ultimate Fighter 20, feuding with fellow castmates like Lisa Ellis and others. She lost to Aisling Daly in the first round of the TUF 20 tournament and fell to Tecia Torres by unanimous decision at the TUF 20 Finale in December. Overall, the New Mexico native, who now trains out of Alliance MMA, has lost three straight. But she does own wins over elite women’s MMA fighters Barb Honchak and Jessica Aguilar.
The TUF 21 Finale will likely feature a main event pitting former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson against Michael Johnson.