Nine months before giving birth to her daughter, Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson was earning her living by beating people up in the cage. Nine months after giving birth, Waterson returned to the cage to headline the Jackson’s MMA Series VII Saturday night. And she returned in style, avenging Albuquerque’s honor against Diana Rael of Denver, who last year upset local favorite Angelica Chavez.
Midway through an exciting first round, Waterson found herself in the same position that Chavez spent most of her fight with Rael—getting smothered by Rael’s suffocating top control. But in the blink of an eye Waterson dug out a sweep and slipped around to Rael’s back, sinking in a rear-naked choke with lightning speed before, as my video replay unfortunately reveals, the referee rear-ended my view of the actual finish.
Still, it was Waterson’s slick reversal to Rael’s back that matters. She went from on her back defending Rael’s ground-and-pound, to locking up the choke, in literally three seconds. And that sequence has been captured for all to enjoy, spliced into the video of Waterson’s post-fight interview for extra effect.
Prior to the fight, all but the first of Waterson’s then nine pro wins had arrived via first-round stoppage: four by armbar, three by rear-naked choke, and one by TKO. Too bad the nickname “Natural Born Killer” is already taken by her teammate Carlos Condit, but we can live with “The Karate Hottie.”
In the post-fight interview, an emotional Waterson called it a “full circle” moment, signifying the end of the 18-month journey that began in her pre-pregnancy, and now concludes back in the cage.
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