Michelle Waterson eager to headline another UFC show, knows she’s “dangerous” everywhere against Marina Rodriguez

Michelle Waterson didn’t hesitate to accept when the UFC offered her another short-notice main event fight.

After TJ Dillashaw was forced out of the UFC Vegas 26 main event against Cory Sandhagen, the UFC was quick to book Waterson vs. Marina Rodriguez at flyweight. For “The Karate Hottie,” she’s ecstatic to be headlining another UFC card.

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“It will be my fourth main event and I’m really excited,” Waterson said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “I’m glad the UFC has faith in me to bring the audience in. I’m on cloud nine here.”

Waterson enters this fight coming off a split decision win over Angela Hill last September, which was also a shot notice five-round main event for Waterson. Despite the fact, her last fight was just like this one, The Karate Hottie says she isn’t looking back on that scrap as she knows this bout with Rodriguez is completely different.

“I have made the mistake in the past to compare my previous fights to the one I’m getting ready to happen and you just can’t,” Waterson explained. “Every fight is different, every fighter is different, every moment is different. I do definitely pull confidence knowing I stepped up a week before to do a five-round fight and was able to go all five rounds, winning Fight of the Night, win the fight and push the pace.”

Image: UFC on Instagram

Entering the UFC Vegas 26 main event against Marina Rodriguez, Michelle Waterson is excited about the matchup. She knows the Brazilian is a very good striker just like herself, however, Waterson is ready for anything and wouldn’t be surprised if the fight hits the mat at some point.

Instead, Waterson says she is preparing for anything as with little notice for their flyweight fight, she says it’s just about showcasing her complete skill set.

“It can be (a kickboxing fight). We are both really good strikers, but I’ve also been fighting for over 12 years, my game has evolved and developed,” Waterson said. “I’m a complete MMA fighter now, I have great wrestling, great jiu-jitsu, great cage control and I’m dangerous in all aspects. I see it happening in all sorts of different ways. It’s one of those things you can’t force, it’s so last minute that it’s going to be a fight. We don’t have time to gameplan, it’s just about showcasing our skills.”

If Michelle Waterson does get her hand raised on Saturday night, she believes it would propel her into the top-five at strawweight. The goal for The Karate Hottie is to end the year in title contention, and knows a win here would be a massive step towards that.

“Absolutely, every time I step into the Octagon it’s me working my way back up to the top so I can fight for the belt. By the end of the year, I hope I’m a contender for the belt,” Waterson concluded.

Who do you think will win, Michelle Waterson or Marina Rodriguez?