IT’S TIME! The UFC Vegas 10 main event of the evening is finally upon us. Michelle Waterson and Angela Hill will throw down in an intriguing strawweight match-up. The winner moves into title contention while the loser has much more work to do. Who’ll emerge victoriously? Let’s find out…
Round 1: Angela Hill is pushing forward early putting pressure on Michelle Waterson. ‘The Karate Hottie’ ducks down for a takedown but settles for some control against the fence. As they break she lands an elbow. Hill continues to advance, she lands a nice overhand right. Waterson is starting to use her kicks to keep Hill at range. She shoots for a takedown. Hill does a great job to defend. Waterson tries to dip down again but eats a knee to the midsection for her efforts. They clinch against the fence. The seconds tick down and they return to the centre but we don’t have enough time for either fighter to get anything off – the horn sounds to end round one.
Round 2: Waterson opens up with a body kick and catches Hill with an overhand as she comes in. Hill returns with a nice punch of her own. Waterson lands a heavy leg kick. Hill fires back with a left upstairs. ‘Overkill’ hits a one-two and forces Waterson to shoot from out of range – it’s easily shrugged off. Huge right from Hill. Waterson could be hurt here. ‘Overkill’ keeps the pressure on but Waterson is a tough fighter and recovers quickly. She grabs her opponent’s leg and pushes the fight against the fence. Hill reverse the position before the fighters separate. Waterson scores big with a big shot over the top. Hill returns with some of her own. This fight is super high paced and both fighters are playing their part in making it fun as round two comes to a close.
Round 3: Hill opens up the round with lots of feints and twitches before popping out the jab. She continues to be the fighter on the front foot. Waterson keeps firing back with big shots to keep Hill honest. Hill lands another jab that seems to bust open the nose of Waterson. ‘The Karate Hottie’ catches a knee and drags the fight to the floor. After countless attempts, she finally has this fight where she wants it. Waterson has locked in her takedown and is doing well to maintain position. Hill is trying to scoot to the fence and work her way back but Waterson is aware of it. Not a lot is going on right now and referee Marc Goddard warns the fighters to get busy. Waterson jumps to the back. She almost loses it but ultimately lands in the half guard of her opponent. Hill pushes her opponent back to full guard. Waterson loses her balance and Hill throws an illegal up kick as the round ends – shes receives a telling off from Goddard in between rounds.
Round 4: Waterson dips under a punch and tries to get another takedown early in this round. Hill does well to shake that shot off and another one. Shes pushes the fight to the fence before they separate and get back to striking range. Both fighters are looking a tad tired now. Waterson steps in with an elbow – beautiful stuff. Hill returns with a heavy right hand of her own. Once again Waterson dips under. Once again Hill shakes it off. Waterson shoots again. She gets her opponent to the mat for a second but ‘Overkill’ pops straight back up before breaking away. Waterson lands a side kick to the face of Hill who eats it and keeps walking forward – what a fight! ‘The Karate Hottie’ lands a couple more big punches. Hill clinches up against the fence. They both try big head kicks as the round ends.
Round 5: Both fighters come out all guns blazing in the final round. Waterson is trying to keep Hill at bay with front kicks. She shoots in for a takedown but is again shook off by Hill who has done an excellent job with that tonight. Waterson goes to the body and to the head with a side kick. Waterson hits a one-two and finishes with a kick. Another big right over the top. She recognizes that one and seems pretty happy with it. Body kick from Waterson. Hill lands the straight right. ‘Overkill’ lands again as Waterson comes in. And another! Waterson is getting hype as the clock ticks down. Very vocal as she bulldozes forward. They let loose against the fence as the horn sounds to end round five and this fight.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Michelle Waterson def. Angela Hill via split decision