Waterson vs Hill Pick UFC Vegas 10

By Cynthia Paniagua Sep 8, 2020

Waterson vs Hill pick for this Saturday’s main event. UFC Vegas 10 is basically ladies night! There are several really awesome women’s fights on this card and the headliner is two badass women who have been around a long time. The Karate Hottie takes on Angie Overkill Hill and I am stoked. Both of these women have been nearing title contention for some time and just seem to fall short, but Saturday we have a very closely matched fight that will send one tumbling down the ranks and the other one step closer to that gold strap.

Waterson vs Hill Odds

Many of us got into MMA knowing full well about “The Karati Hottie”! Michelle Waterson was always a fan favorite and has a fan-friendly combination of Karate, Judo, and BJJ to land a surprising amount of finishes for WMMA. She has always struggled with the very top of the division but is determined to become the first-ever Mom-Champ and really needs a win on Saturday to realize that dream. Waterson is coming off of a dull and uninspiring split decision loss to Carla Esparza and now faces fellow striker Hill in what should be a much more exciting match up.

Many of us got into MMA knowing full well about “The Karati Hottie”! Michelle Waterson was always a fan favorite and has a fan-friendly combination of Karate, Judo, and BJJ to land a surprising amount of finishes for WMMA. She has always struggled with the very top of the division but is determined to become the first-ever Mom-Champ and really needs a win on Saturday to realize that dream. Waterson is coming off of a dull and uninspiring split decision loss to Carla Esparza and now faces fellow striker Hill in what should be a much more exciting match up.

Saturday is a big night for Angela Hill because she is the closest to title contention she has ever been and not only that she is making history by becoming the first-ever black woman to headline a UFC fight card. If she didn’t have the motivation of her career already that is a massive honor and I am sure she will have a little extra drive because of it. Hill is 35 years old and has been fighting a very long time, but somehow still seems to be evolving. Rarely do you see a fighter make improvements at this stage of their career, but Hill seems to get better every time we see her and was on a 3 fight win streak until she fell on the wrong side of a split decision back in May against Claudia Gadelha.

Waterson vs Hill: The Matchup

The money is already coming in on Angela Hill and I just want to provide a word of caution to those of you running to the window. This fight is really close. Michelle Waterson has a wealth of experience and has fought a much higher level of competition over the course of her career than Hill has and that always plays a role in MMA. Angela Hill will enjoy a 2-inch reach advantage, but she will likely struggle with the movement and kicking offense of Michelle Waterson. Hill is a Muay Thai specialist and looks to land big shots from the clinch, but Michelle Waterson has excellent trips and throws that she can hit from that very same position.

You may see online a landslide of support in this fight for Angela Hill, but that is recency bias because Hill arguably won the fight against Gadelha and Waterson didn’t look great in her split loss to the Cookie Monster. We have seen time and time again that Angela Hill can get stuck on her back under grapplers who know how to defend against submission offense and while the Karate Hottie is known for her striking she has an extremely underrated grappling game.

Waterson has submission offense of her own and has a smothering top game and if Hill gets put on her back by a trip or a throw I can see that clock ticking away and the round disappearing really quickly. Simply put this fight is 50/50 and the wider this line gets the more value there will be on Waterson come Saturday. I honestly do not suggest betting on this fight because you are flipping a coin, but my inclination would be to take Waterson with that + money if you had to get some action on it. This is a 5 round main event and I think this will be extremely close and more than likely a split decision for whoever gets it.

The Pick: Michelle Waterson (+110)