Michelle Waterson
Michelle Waterson was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States on January 6th, 1986 and is the MMA Fighter. At the age of 38, Michelle Waterson biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 38 years old, Michelle Waterson has this physical status:
Michelle Waterson (born January 6, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
She is the former Invicta FC Atomweight Champion.
She was ranked the world's best women's atomweight fighter from 2013-2014.
She currently ranks eighth in the UFC women's strawweight rankings as of October 21, 2019.
Early life
Waterson, a child of European and Thai descent, was born in Colorado Springs and raised in Aurora, Thailand: her father is American and mother Thai; her mother is Thai. After graduating from Aurora Central High School, she began modeling in 2004. She remained at the University of Denver until she decided she wanted to pursue a career in combat.
Personal life
Waterson is married to former U.S. Armed Forces amateur boxing champion Joshua Gomez. Waterson revealed on September 16, 2010, she was pregnant with her first child and recently engaged. On March 18, 2011, she gave birth to a daughter.
After going to a Hooters calendar shooting, Waterson received the nickname 'Karate Hottie'.
Early martial arts career
At the age of ten, her early interest in Gymnastics, as well as the inability to pay for classes, led her to Karate.
Waterson has a black belt in American Freestyle Karate, and has also worked in Wushu, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Boxing and Wrestling.
Waterson rose to fame as a contestant on the Muay Thai-themed Fight Girls reality show on the Oxygen television network. She was also featured as one of the fighters in the MTV/MTV2 reality show Bully Beatdown.
Professional mixed martial arts career
Waterson made her MMA debut against Andrea Miller on February 16, 2007, winning the fight by unanimous verdict. She made her debut without having any amateur competitions.
Lynn Alvarez, the reigning champion of Freestyle Cage Combat, defeated her in the first round by submission, but she was disqualified by submission on December 1, 2007.
On October 3, 2008, Waterson made her Strikeforce debut against Tyra Parker at Strikeforce: Payback. In the first round, she defeated herself by a rear naked choke submission.
On March 1, 2009, Waterson met Karina Taylor at Duke City MMA Series 1. In the first round, she fought by armbar submission. Because Taylor did not tap out to the armbar, there was some controversies during the match.
Waterson defeated Elena Reid, the former WIBA and IFBA Flyweight Boxing Champion, at Apache Gold on April 11, 2009: The Extreme Beatdown. In the second round, Reid defeated TKO in the second round.
Waterson faced the debuting Rosary Califano on EB, defeating them 6 Bears 6-3 and winning by submission due to a flying armbar in only 15 seconds.
Crowbar MMA: Spring Brawl defeated Masako Yoshida on April 24, 2010. In the first round, Waterson defeated TKO in the first round.
On January 21, 2012, Waterson returned to MMA. In the first round, she met Diana Rael at Jackson's MMA Series 7 and won the match by rear-naked choke.
Invicta FC 3: Waterson defeated Lacey Schuckman at Invicta FC 3: Penne vs. Sugiyama, October 6, 2012. Waterson triumphed Schuckman in the third round after three back-and-forth rounds by a split decision. The fight was dubbed Fight of the Night.
When Waterson faced Jessica Penne in the main event of Invicta FC 5: Waterson vs. Waterson, she competed for the Invicta FC Atomweight Championship. In the fourth round, Waterson won the Invicta FC Atomweight Champion by armbar submission. Waterson defended her title against Yasuko Tamada in the main event of Invicta FC 8 via TKO in the third round on September 6, 2014.
Invicta FC 10 in Houston against Brazilian Hérica Tibrcio was the next big news on December 5, 2014. In the third round, she was disqualified due to a guillotine choke takeover.
Waterson had officially signed with the UFC on April 28, 2015, and was due to participate in the Women's Strawweight division. Waterson made her promotional debut against Angela Magaya at The Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale on July 12, 2015. In the third round, she secured the fight by submission.
Waterson was supposed to meet Tecia Torres at UFC 194 next week. However, she was forced to pull out of the competition on November 24, 2015, citing a knee injury.
Waterson returned from the sport a year and a half ago due to injuries in December 2016, beating Paige VanZant in the main event at UFC on Fox 22. In the first round, she secured the title by virtue of a rear naked choke. Waterson's first Performance of the Night bonus award was also given to her after her triumph.
On April 15, 2017, Waterson defeated Rose Namajunas in UFC on Fox 24. She was defeated by back naked choke. On December 2, 2017, Waterson faced Tecia Torres at UFC 218. She was disqualified by a majority vote in the fight.
On April 14, 2018, Waterson met Cortney Casey at UFC on Fox 29. She won the battle by a split decision. On October 6, 2018, Waterson next met Felice Herrig at UFC 229. She prevailed in the fight by a unanimous vote.
On March 30, 2019, Waterson defeated Karolina Kowalkiewicz at UFC on ESPN 2 for UFC. She was victorious by a unanimous vote.
On October 12, 2019, Waterson faced Joanna Jdrzejczyk at UFC Fight Night 161. She was disqualified by a unanimous decision.
On April 11, 2020, Waterson would face Carla Esparza in UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Harris. The bout was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it did take place on May 9, 2020 at UFC 249. She was disqualified by a split decision in the fight.
On August 22, 2020, Waterson was supposed to meet Angela Hill at UFC on ESPN 15. However, the match was postponed three weeks later to UFC Fight Night 177 due to some personal reasons on Waterson's side. She won the match by a split decision. This fight earned her the Fight of the Night award. Waterson was honoured her BJ brown belt in the octagon from her mentor, Rafael 'Barata' Freitas of Gracie Barra.
At UFC 257, Waterson was supposed to meet Amanda Ribas on January 24, 2021. However, Waterson was forced to withdraw from the tournament in early December due to undisclosed reasons. Marina Rodriguez had her removed from her role as a substitute. Waterson explained in May 2021 that the reason for the withdrawal was the loss of two grandparents.
On ESPN 24, Waterson met Marina Rodriguez on May 8, 2021. She was disqualified by a unanimous decision.
At UFC Fight Night 205, Waterson was supposed to meet Amanda Ribas on March 26, 2022. However, the match was postponed to UFC 274 on May 7, 2022, due to Waterson's undisclosed injury.
At UFC on ABC 3, Waterson met Amanda Lemos on July 16, 2022. In the second round, she was disqualified due to a guillotine choke submission.