The hour grows late for Michelle Waterson.
Still on the periphery of title contention as a Top 10 women’s strawweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, “The Karate Hottie” will face Amanda Lemos in the UFC on ABC 3 co-main event this Saturday at the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York. Waterson has lost three of her past four bouts. She last appeared at UFC on ESPN 24, where she wound up on the wrong side of a unanimous decision against Marina Rodriguez on May 8, 2021. Lemos, meanwhile, has rattled off five wins in six outings. However, the former Jungle Fight champion finds herself on the rebound after submitting to a Jessica Andrade arm-triangle choke in the first round of their UFC Fight Night 205 pairing on April 23.
As Waterson and Lemos polish off their latest training camps, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:
36: Years of age for Waterson, who was born in Aurora, Colorado, on Jan. 6, 1986.
9: Waterson wins by submission, accounting for 50% of her career total (18). Her methods of choice: five armbars and four rear-naked chokes. Waterson holds three other wins by knockout or technical knockout (17%) and six more by decision (33%).
128: Significant strikes landed by Waterson in a five-round split decision over former Invicta Fighting Championships titleholder Angela Hill in the UFC Fight Night 177 headliner on Sept. 12, 2020. It established a high-water mark for the Greg Jackson protégé.
15: Seconds needed for Waterson to submit Rosary Califano with a flying armbar at an Extreme Beatdown show on Feb. 13, 2010. Having occurred more than 12 years ago, it remains her fastest finish to date.
98: Combined victories between the nine opponents—Rodriguez, Carla Esparza, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Tecia Torres, Rose Namajunas, Herica Tiburcio, Elena Reid, Lynn Alvarez and Alicia Gumm—who have defeated Waterson. They sport a .726 cumulative winning percentage (98-35-2).
35: Years of age for Lemos, who was born on May 22, 1987 in Belem, Brazil.
7: Lemos victories by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 64% of her career total (11). Her list of UFC victims: Montserrat Ruiz and Livinha Souza. Lemos owns two other victories by submission (18%) and two more by decision (18%).
8: First-round finishes on the Lemos resume, including one of the sub-minute variety. She buried Ruiz with punches in just 35 seconds at UFC on ESPN 26 a little more than a year ago.
5: Knockdowns landed by Lemos as a UFC women’s strawweight, placing her first on the promotion’s all-time list at 115 pounds. She ranks ahead of Namajunas (four), Hill (three), Weili Zhang (two), Silvana Gomez Juarez (two) and two others: Rodriguez (two) and Hannah Cifers (two).
.703: Cumulative winning percentage between the two opponents—Andrade and Leslie Smith—who have beaten Lemos. They boast a combined record of 45-18-1.
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