Prediction: Carla Esparza (odds -157) vs. Michelle Waterson (odds +137)
The only women’s fight to make its way onto the UFC 249 card brings Carla Esparza into close contact with Michelle Waterson, who lost to former strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk when she was last in the cage.
That unanimous-decision loss may have shown “The Karate Hottie” isn’t quite up to the championship standard, but Esparza has also lost out in those meetings with higher-level foes.
Esparza sealed decision wins over Virna Jandiroba (unanimous) and Alexa Grosso (majority) in her last two fights, but she came unstuck against Claudia Gaudelha (split-decision) and Tatiana Suarez (TKO) prior to that.
Waterson, 34, has won three of her last four fights and been stopped only once in eight UFC outings, looking as though she’ll hold the advantage on the ground in this bout.
Betting Prediction: Michelle Waterson via Submission
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