Michelle Waterson breaks down into tears following loss at UFC Tampa

UFC women’s strawweight contender Michelle Waterson broke down in tears following her unanimous decision loss to Joanna Jedrzejczyk in the main event of UFC Tampa.

Speaking to reporters backstage after the event, Waterson couldn’t hold back the tears when she discussed the disappointment of losing the biggest fight of her UFC career to date.

“The feeling of victory is addicting. The highs are super high, and I always say this, but the lows are super low,” Waterson said.

“I think the hardest part is letting down all my coaches and my fans because of all the time they’ve put into me.”

Despite going a hard 25 minutes and earning praise from fans and fellow fighters on social media for her toughness, earning a participation medal wasn’t what “The Karate Hottie” was looking for. She wanted to win this fight and get a title shot, and the fact she lost has her crushed, although the love she got from her fans is what pushes her going forward.

“I don’t think anybody steps into the Octagon with the idea of losing. But just the fact that the crowd was still cheering and behind me, it fills my heart and lets me know I’m on the right track,” Waterson said.

“That’s the fight game. That’s life. Can’t win ’em all.”

Waterson will surely take some time off after this fight to rest up and heal her wounds after taking quite a bit of damage from Jedrzejczyk. When she returns to the Octagon next year, she will remain one of the top-10 women’s strawweights in the UFC rankings. But she still needs to get that big marquee victory on her resume if she wants to earn that UFC title shot that she so badly covets, and who knows, maybe 2020 will be her year.

Who should Michelle Waterson fight next?