Not all losses are created equal, according to Michelle Waterson, who’s a FOX Sports guest analyst for tonight’s big UFC 225 event.
“The Karate Hottie” (15-6 MMA, 3-2 UFC), who recently halted a two-fight skid with a split-decision victory over Cortney Casey at UFC on FOX 29 in April, will return to an analyst role for the big pay-per-view event, where she’s got her eye on two female fights that are part of the card at Chicago’s United Center.
Waterson joins Michael Bisping, Kenny Florian and Karyn Bryant for the FS1 coverage of the event, where former women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm (11-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC) meets featherweight Megan Anderson (7-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) on the main card and where ex-titleholder Carla Esparza (13-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) meets fellow top strawweight contender Claudia Gadelha (15-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) in a featured FS1 prelim.
Holm is a solid -160 favorite, and Gadelha is a commanding -400 favorite at the sports books.
Why? Recent competition – regardless of results – is the reason, according to Waterson.
Sure, she’s a bit biased with Holm – a friend and teammate at Jackson-Wink MMA – but Waterson also knows that Holm’s recent 1-4 skid came against a who’s who of MMA, including Cris Cyborg, Germaine de Randamie, Valentina Shevchenko and Miesha Tate.
“Holly’s been fighting really high-caliber fights – for a belt,” she told MMAjunkie Radio. “So, I don’t think you can necessarily take those losses into account because, you know, a loss isn’t just a loss when you look at the fights and how close the fights were and how much Holly was able to take away from those fights and grow and develop as a fighter. I think it’s a big reason she’s not the underdog in this fight.
“And another reason is that nobody knows much about Megan Anderson. She is a very well-rounded fighter. She’s the Invicta FC champ. But there’s not much flow about her. Nobody really knows much about her or the opponents she’s beaten.”
Check out the full conversation, which includes her thoughts on Gadelha vs. Esparza (and why she’s favoring Gadelha), above.
And for more on UFC 225, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
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