UFC Strawweight fighter Michelle Waterson predicted her Jackson’s MMA teammate Holly Holm will be the one to ‘dethrone’ UFC 135lb champion Ronda Rousey.
Appearing on the War of the Words podcast on Thursday, the 29-year-old opened up about the current state of the UFC’s Bantamweight division.
The former Invicta FC Atomweight champion; who recently defeated Angela Magana in her UFC debut at the TUF 21 Finale, spoke about the lead up to UFC 190 between Rousey and Bethe Correia.
“I was really looking forward to the fight going longer, throughout all of the pre-fight interviews, Ronda just kept saying how much she was going to torture her as long as she could, but of course it’s not her fault that Bethe couldn’t take that punch.”
It took Rousey just 34 seconds to dispatch of Correia in Brazil on Saturday night, however Waterson believes that her close friend, undefeated Holm (9-0), will be the one to defeat the current Women’s Bantamweight champion.
“I have a teammate that is very close to me, who is one of my best friends and I feel like she [Holm] is the one that will dethrone Ronda.”
Holm, 33, made her UFC debut in February this year, defeating Raquel Pennington by split decision. Last month, she eased to a unanimous decision over Marion Reneau in San Diego.
When asked about Holly’s technical style, Waterson said: “You know Holly, it’s just stylistically everybody has their own style and I just feel like Holly’s style is hit and don’t get hit, so you can’t knock her for that, it’s the name of the game, save your brain cells.”
‘The Karate Hottie’ added that she feels Holm may be next in line after number one contender Miesha Tate for a title shot, who will face Rousey for the third time in her career.
Waterson also spoke about Holm’s excellent ring awareness, and ability to control fights, stemming back to her professional boxing career where Holm won numerous recognised world championships.
“Definitely, she is a absolute veteran when it comes to ring generalship, cage generalship she knows her space, and she knows how to use her space, just like Ronda knows how to work within the clinch, Holly knows how to use her space very well.
“Ronda fights well when she can rush somebody, she’ll take a hit to give a hit, and she won’t be able to do that with Holly, she’ll take a hit and she’ll try to hit Holly, and Holly will be gone.”
You can listen to the full interview with Michelle Waterson on the War of the Words podcast right here, which includes news on her broken hand, the importance of MMA in communities, the Strawweight division and more.
