Based on what happened in Vegas, perhaps three New Mexico fighters should have stayed in New Mexico.
In the main event of a UFC Fight Night card on Saturday in Las Vegas, Nevada, Albuquerque’s Michelle Waterson lost by unanimous decision to Brazil’s Marina Rodriguez in a five-round flyweight fight.
In the co-main event, Edgewood welterweight Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone lost by first-round TKO to Houston’s Alex Morono.
Heavyweight Maurice Greene, Waterson’s teammate at Albuquerque’s Jackson-Wink MMA, lost by unanimous decision to Brazil’s Marcos Rogerio de Lima.
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Waterson (18-9), who normally competes at the 115-pound strawweight limit, agreed to fight Rodriguez at the flyweight limit of 125 because the fight was made on short notice after an earlier planned main event had to be cancelled.
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Donald Cerrone, left, fights Anthony Pettis during a UFC 249 mixed martial arts bout, Saturday, May 9, 2020, in Jacksonville, Fla. Cerrone is back at it again Saturday. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone’s anger toward Diego Sanchez has dissipated, but there’s residual fury in there.
It’s Alex Morono, Cerrone said, who now must pay.
“I still have that malicious intent on hurting this (expletive) because I’ve still got the Diego fire,” Edgewood’s Cerrone said this week in an interview with mmajunkie.com. “So I’m planning every punch and every kick to be lethal, and I don’t want the kid to make it out of the first round.”
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Michelle Waterson in action against Karolina Kowalkiewicz during their mixed martial arts bout at UFC Fight Night, Saturday, March 30, 2019, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Gregory Payan)
Albuquerque’s Michelle Waterson has been an MMA fighter for almost 15 years, and she knows there won’t be another 15. With her husband, former amateur and pro boxer Joshua Gomez, she’s making plans for life after the Octagon.
Even so, as she prepares for Saturday’s main-event fight in Las Vegas, Nevada, against Brazil’s Marina Rodriguez, her goal in MMA has not changed.
Before she’s done, she wants a shot at the UFC strawweight title belt.