‘The Karate Hottie’ Michele Waterson overwhelmed Paige VanZant early tonight at UFC On FOX 22, throwing her to the mat and then locking in a fight-ending rear-naked choke submission.
Round One:
The main event of the evening is underway in Sacremento!
Side kick to the body to start from Waterson. PVZ moving on the outside as Waterson takes the center of the Octagon.
Waterson clips PVZ with a punch. PVZ working her kicking game now. More side kicks from Waterson, keeping her distance from her opponent.
Right hand lands for Waterson as PVZ comes in, but she lands a punch too. Again PVZ eats a right hand as she comes in. She tries to work a throw, but it doesn’t pay off and Waterson works into the clinch.
Now it’s Waterson working for the throw, and she lands it nicely. Waterson all over her on the mat as she takes her back and sinks in the rear-naked choke.
PVZ hanging tough even though the choke looks tight. VanZant fights off that choke, but Waterson just readjusts and now the choke is even tighter.
VanZant refusing to tap out and that means there’s only one way this is going to go as she starts to lose consciousness, resulting in the referee stepping in to end the fight with 3.21mins gone in the opening round.
Big win for Waterson then, overwhelming her younger opponent in the early stages of the fight and making a big statement on FOX that the former Invicta FC champ plans to be a major contender in the UFC.
