No one can be certain exactly how much Felice Herrig has left in the tank.
The well-traveled 37-year-old will return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship stage for the first time in nearly two years when she rematches Karolina Kowalkiewicz—the Pole defeated Herrig by split decision in 2018—in the featured UFC Fight Night 207 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Herrig finds herself in the midst of a career-worst three-fight losing streak. She last competed at UFC 252, where she submitted to an armbar from former Invicta Fighting Championships titleholder Virna Jandiroba in the first round of their August 2020 pairing.
As Herrig makes final preparations for her second encounter with Kowalkiewicz at 115 pounds, a look at some of the rivalries that have played a role in charting her course:
Lisa Ellis
Herrig made a successful organizational debut when she submitted the United Training Center representative with a second-round armbar as part of “The Ultimate Fighter 20” Finale undercard on Dec. 12, 2014 at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. Ellis conceded defeat 3:05 into Round 2. The two strawweights engaged in a back-and-forth battle, on the feet and on the ground. Ellis was on the verge of a submission of her own inside the first minute of Round 1, where she threatened with a standing guillotine. Herrig survived, touching off a series of scrambles and exchanges that spilled into the second frame. There, Herrig reversed into top position following an Ellis takedown, climbed briefly to full mount and then settled on her opponent’s back. Ellis dodged the first armbar attempt but not the second, as Herrig went belly down with the technique and coaxed the tapout.
Paige VanZant
The Team Alpha Male export broke down Herrig with a crushing pace and cruised to a unanimous decision in their UFC on Fox 15 women’s strawweight showcase on April 18, 2015 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Scores were 30-27, 30-26 and 30-26. Herrig had her moments early. She threatened VanZant with a succession of opening-round submission attempts, first with a rear-naked choke, then with a triangle choke and finally with an armbar. VanZant escaped them all. Herrig’s gas tank failed her down the stretch, as her exuberant counterpart put a hyperactive top game to optimum use. The third round was not competitive. VanZant executed a takedown inside the first minute and torched the Team Curran mainstay with ground-and-pound. Her work netted her a 10-8 round on two scorecards and provided her with an exclamation point on the victory.
Alexa Grasso
Herrig collected the most significant win of her career when she claimed a unanimous decision over previously undefeated Lobo Gym prospect in their UFC Fight Night 104 co-main event on Feb. 4, 2017 at the Toyota Center in Houston. The “Lil Bulldog” drew 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 marks from the cageside judiciary. Grasso, who entered the Octagon as close to a 3-to-1 favorite, was stuck in neutral for much of the 15-minute confrontation. Herrig pressured her with punches, often pairing left hooks to the body with clubbing rights upstairs. Grasso was uncharacteristically tentative, perhaps caught off-guard by the veteran’s aggression on the feet. Herrig struck for a takedown in the third round and briefly achieved full mount before getting back to work in the standup. Grasso buckled the Buffalo Grove, Illinois, native with a late flurry but did not do enough to author the finish she needed. It remains the centerpiece of the Herrig resume.
Michelle Waterson
Waterson shined in her role as a slight underdog against the Jeff Curran protégé and walked away from their featured UFC 229 attraction with a unanimous decision on Oct. 6, 2018 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Scores were 30-26, 29-28 and 30-27. Waterson utilized an active kicking game, held her own in the clinch and executed a beautiful throw in the second round, whereupon she spent several minutes feeding her counterpart ground-and-pound from top position. Even when she wound up pinned beneath Herrig in Round 3, “The Karate Hottie” responded with savage slashing elbows from the bottom and made certain the tide would not turn against her. By the time the smoke cleared, Waterson had outlanded “The Ultimate Fighter 20” quarterfinalist by a 131-70 margin.
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