Wins have been harder to find lately for top-ranked UFC strawweight Michelle Waterson. Coming off a loss to rising contender Marina Rodrigues in May of last year, Ariel Helwani reports that the ‘Karate Hottie’ is now set to face hard hitting Brazilian Amanda Lemos on a July 16th UFC Fight Night card.
Waterson (18-9) has lost three of her last four bouts, including the Rodrigues fight. Notably, however, the other two losses came to current champion Carla Esparza and former title holder Joanna Jedrzejzyk. Prior to those bouts, the 36-year-old was on a three-fight winning streak, which included a victory over onetime top contender, Karolina Kowalkiewicz.
Lemos (11-2-1) saw her rise toward title contention in the strawweight division suddenly halted on April 23rd in the main event of UFC Vegas 52 against Jessica Andrade. The former champion caught Lemos in a standing arm-triangle for the first round submission victory. The defeat marked the Marajó Brothers trained fighter’s first loss inside the Octagon since her UFC debut against Leslie Smith, back in 2017. Coinicdentally, a split decision over Angela Hill marks the last win on both Waterson’s and Lemos’ record.
No location or main event booking has been announced for the UFC’s July 16th Fight Night card. Alongside the women’s strawweight bout, a flyweight top-contender’s fight between Askar Askarov and Alex Perez is also expected for the event.
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