(What, were you expecting some glamorous bikini shot, or a gratuitous gif? Well SHAME ON YOU, Nation. *This* is the face of women’s MMA, so look at it, ya bunch of misogynists! via Invicta)
In the wake of all this bombshell Jon Jones news being dropped, it would be easy to overlook the fact that the UFC made another, more positive announcement earlier this week: the signing of former Invicta atomweight champion Michelle Waterson to their 115-pound division. The news of Waterson’s was made by the UFC on Tuesday, and last night, Waterson’s debut opponent has been announced.
Suffice it to say, if you think “The Karate Hottie” is being handed a gimme fight to launch her up the rankings, well, you’re right.
(What, were you expecting some glamorous bikini shot, or a gratuitous gif? Well SHAME ON YOU, Nation. *This* is the face of women’s MMA, so look at it, ya bunch of misogynists! via Invicta)
In the wake of all this bombshell Jon Jones news being dropped, it would be easy to overlook the fact that the UFC made another, more positive announcement earlier this week: the signing of former Invicta atomweight champion Michelle Waterson to their 115-pound division. The news of Waterson’s was made by the UFC on Tuesday, and last night, Waterson’s debut opponent has been announced.
Suffice it to say, if you think “The Karate Hottie” is being handed a gimme fight to launch her up the rankings, well, you’re right.
With her impressive resume and…let’s call it “extreme marketability“, Waterson’s signing is undoubtedly a huge get for the relatively shallow strawweight division. She is, however, one of those rare fighters to be signed to the UFC following a loss — a 2014 submission via rear-naked choke to Herica Tiburcio that cost her the Invicta belt — so one wouldn’t expect to see her matched up against a VanZant or a Torres right off the bat, right? Sean Shelby & Co. obviously agree, as “The Karate Hottie” will make her promotional debut against Angela “Your Majesty” Magana.
Magana is, of course, the much-despised TUF 20 alum who was last seen getting outstruck 96-34 by Tecia Torres at the TUF 20 Finale. I truly cannot think of one other significant thing to say about her.
Waterson vs. Magana is set to transpire at The Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale on July 12 in a Florida city TBD. For those of you who have managed to make it this far down the article, I present you with this reward.
The UFC crowned its first women’s strawweight champion last night. Carla Esparza and Rose Namajunas tore through the cast of The Ultimate Fighter season 20 and met one another in the finals.
Namajunas had a great showing in the first round, but in the second and third, Esparza’s wrestling and power became too much for Namajunas to handle. She took Namajunas down at will and controlled her easily, eventually taking her back in the third round and securing a rear naked choke.
Get the fight card’s complete results — including KJ Noons vs. Daron Cruickshank and Charles Oliveira vs. Jeremy Stephens — after the jump.
Namajunas had a great showing in the first round, but in the second and third, Esparza’s wrestling and power became too much for Namajunas to handle. She took Namajunas down at will and controlled her easily, eventually taking her back in the third round and securing a rear naked choke.
The card’s co-main event featured Jeremy Stephens and Charles Oliveira. The contest was one-sided, with Oliveira taking Stephens down repeatedly and nearly locking in arm-bar after arm-bar. To Stephens’ credit, he managed to escape every one — even the harrowing arm-bar attempts where his arm was completely extended. However, he barely landed any significant offense throughout the fight. Oliveira just smothered him too much with constant pressure in the wrestling department as well as unending submission attempts. The judges awarded Oliveira with a unanimous decision win.
Here are the complete results from the TUF 20 Finale:
Main Card
Carla Esparza def. Rose Namajunas via submission (rear naked choke) 1:26 of round 3
Charles Oliveira def. Jeremy Stephens via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).
KJ Noons and Darron Cruickshank ends in a no contest via accidental eye poke, 0:25 of round 2.
Yancy Medeiros def. Joe Proctor via submission (guillotine), 4:37 of round 1.
Jessica Penne def. Randa Markos via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
Preliminary Card
Felice Herrig def. Lisa Ellis via submission (arm-bar), 1:53 of round 2.
Heather Jo Clark def. Bec Rawlings via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Joanne Calderwood def. Seo Hee Ham via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26).
Tecia Torres def. Angela Magana via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Aisling Daly def. Alex Chambers via submission (arm bar), 4:53 of round 1.
Angela Hill def. Emily Kagan via unanimous decisio (30-27, 30-26, 30-27)
Team Pettis’ Aisling Daly has a style that can be best described as…unorthodox. She throws awkward, repetitive 1-2 combos and standing hammerfists that evoke memories of Jade Chun vs. Taeler Jackson. She attacks with her chin sticking straight up in the air — her head’s on a beanpole, as Joe Rogan might say. When it comes to submissions and scrambling, she often seems like she’s just making it up as she goes along. Uhhh…maybe if I just grab her arm like this…and twist it that way?
But Aisling Daly also has surprisingly decent head movement, an iron chin, and the kind of killer instinct that would make Gary Ridgway blush with envy. Daly is just plain aggressive, and the relentless pace she sets from start to finish will fucking break you. While it’s easy to understand how her less-than-flashy style led her to be picked last despite being ranked #5, her third round TKO of Team Melendez’s Angela Magana on last night’s episode of TUF 20surely erased anyone’s doubts when it came to her skills as a fighter. “Aisling is just one of those ladies that you just know can fight,” as Pettis summed it up.
Team Pettis’ Aisling Daly has a style that can be best described as…unorthodox. She throws awkward, repetitive 1-2 combos and standing hammerfists that evoke memories of Jade Chun vs. Taeler Jackson. She attacks with her chin sticking straight up in the air — her head’s on a beanpole, as Joe Rogan might say. When it comes to submissions and scrambling, she often seems like she’s just making it up as she goes along. Uhhh…maybe if I just grab her arm like this…and twist it that way?
But Aisling Daly also has surprisingly decent head movement, an iron chin, and the kind of killer instinct that would make Gary Ridgway blush with envy. Daly is just plain aggressive, and the relentless pace she sets from start to finish will fucking break you. While it’s easy to understand how her less-than-flashy style led her to be picked last despite being ranked #5, her third round TKO of Team Melendez’s Angela Magana on last night’s episode of TUF 20surely erased anyone’s doubts when it came to her skills as a fighter. “Aislin is just one of those ladies that you just know can fight,” as Pettis summed it up.
The first round of Daly vs. Magana was all Magana, though, who reversed a failed Daly takedown attempt to bring the Irishwoman to the mat. From there, Magana controlled Daly and threatened with rear naked chokes for the majority of the round. Save for one particularly egregious standup by the ref while Magana was working an armbar, Team Melendez seemed as if they might finally be on the verge of their first win.
Unfortunately for Team Melendez, the second round was a different story entirely, with Daly peppering Magana on the feet and eventually taking her to the ground to work some top control of her own. Daly was nothing short of suffocating, landing some solid shots to the body and simply out-positioning Magana before locking in a rear naked choke of her own as the round expired.
Magana was clearly the more tired fighter coming into the third, and Daly exploited it immediately, taking Magana to the mat and reigning down punches from above until the referee was forced to step in. Being that Chan Sung Jung will be MIA for another two years, I hereby move that we swap Daly’s current nickname “Ais the Bash” for a more appropriate one, “The Irish Zombie.”
The fight was easily one of the best of the season, if not the best, and with the win, Team Pettis is now up 6-0 over Team Melendez. Next week: Thug Rose vs. Alex Chambers.
