Michelle Waterson-Gomez called an end to her professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career earlier tonight (Sat., June 29, 2024) at UFC 303 LIVE on ESPN+ PPV from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“Karate Hottie” announced her official retirement following a lopsided decision loss to women’s strawweight contender Gillian Robertson on the “Prelims” undercard.
Waterson-Gomez, who turned 38 earlier this year, came into Saturday night riding a brutal four-fight losing streak. Her last win was a split decision over Angela Hill back in 2020. The last time Waterson-Gomez finished a fight was a submission over Paige VanZant all the way back in 2016. Needless to say, Waterson-Gomez was a sizeable underdog going up against Robertson.
As expected, Robertson utilized her wrestling skills to control Waterson-Gomez and threaten with a variety of submission attempts and crafty transitions. Waterson-Gomez showed great submission defense, but she offered little offense of her own over the course of 15 minutes. In the end, Robertson cruised to a unanimous decision win to hand “Karate Hottie” her fifth-straight defeat inside of the Octagon.
Waterson-Gomez, who leaves behind a 18-13 professional record, took off her gloves after the loss and announced she’s walking away from fighting. “Karate Hottie” was quite emotional as UFC played a video montage of her career highlights before Joe Rogan provided a heart-pulling interview.
Check out the final moments below:
Michelle Waterson-Gomez’s retirement package pic.twitter.com/Re6MUKDHYA
— MMA Mania (@mmamania) June 30, 2024
For complete UFC 303 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.