The UFC touches down in Glendale, Arizona this April and the card is really shaping up to be a great one. The event is already topped off with two all-violence level matchups featuring Dustin Poirier against Justin Gaethje in the main event and Matt Brown vs Carlos Condit in the co-main.
And now the UFC has brought the ladies into the mix as AZCentral reports that the former Invicta FC Atomweight champion, Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson will be taking on MMA Lab product, Cortney Casey.
Both fighters in the matchup will be looking to rebound off of losses. They actually both fought on the same card for their last fights, which took place at UFC 218. Casey went the distance with the surging, Felice Herrig and lost via split decision in a close and calculated battle that many think she deserved to win. Waterson, on the other hand, lost a unanimous decision to the potential future title challenger, Tecia Torres.
This fight will be big for both fighters but more so for Waterson who is riding a two-fight losing streak and will want to avoid making that three. This is the first time in the former Invicta champion’s career that she has lost back to back fights.
Casey has been pretty on and off in her UFC career to this point. She debuted on short notice against Joanne Calderwood in Calderwood’s home country of Scotland then went and played visitor again when she fought Seo Hee Ham in South Korea afterward. Since starting off 0-2, she has earned notable victories over Randa Markos and former World Series of Fighting champion, Jessica Aguilar. Despite those wins, Casey’s UFC record still sits at 3-4 which is similar to Waterson’s 2-3.
As for the rest of the April 14th card, it looks like this so far(excluding all other fights already mentioned):
Heavyweight: Arjan Bhullar vs. Adam Wieczorek
Flyweight: Wilson Reis vs. John Moraga
Welterweight: Dhiego Lima vs. Yushin Okami
Middleweight: Antônio Carlos Júnior vs. Tim Boetsch
Bantamweight: Luke Sanders vs. Patrick Williams
Middleweight: Brad Tavares vs. Krzysztof Jotko
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 2/8/2018.