UFC 218 has another strawweight fight, and it’s a big one. As first reported by ESPN, former Invicta FC champ Michelle Waterson will face Tecia Torres at the December event. The bout marks The Karate Hottie’s first fight back since an April submission loss to Rose Namajunas. “Thug Rose” now has a date with 115lb champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 217; Waterson now gets a chance to rebuild.
Torres had previously called out Waterson back on Twitter in August.
Michelle what's up? Let's fight and put on a good show! @karatehottiemma Waiting for you ?? @ufc
— Tecia Torres (@TeciaTorres) August 29, 2017
It took a bit, but the fight has come to fruition, though the UFC has yet to officially announce the pairing.
Prior to her loss to Namajunas, Michelle Waterson (14–5) had won both her UFC fights to date, including a main event submission of Paige VanZant last December at UFC on FOX 22. The former Invicta FC atomweight champ returned to strawweight for her UFC run, but has only managed to appear three times in three years thus far, with injuries and other commitments keeping her from the cage.
It was recently announced that Waterson will join the cast of MTV’s The Challenge: Champs vs. Stars.
Tecia Torres (9-1) is another victim of Namajunas, as the title challenger represents the only loss on her record. Now 5-1 in the UFC, Torres most recently defeated Juliana Lima by rear-naked choke at the Ultimate Fighter 25 finale. That brought her winning streak to two. Torres got her start on TUF 20, which introduced the strawweight division to the UFC, and was one of the favorites to win the show.
UFC 218 takes place December 2 at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. Max Holloway will defend his undisputed featherweight title for the first time against former lightweight champ Frankie Edgar in the main event. Also on the card, heavyweights Francis Ngannou and Alistair Overeem will clash in a key heavyweight bout that could determine the next challenger. In additional strawweight action, Angela Magana meets Amanda Cooper.
