Michelle Waterson still wants to fight Carla Esparza, hopes UFC events return soon

UFC strawweight contender Michelle Waterson was getting set to take on Carla Esparza at UFC on ESPN+30 on April 11 in Portland, Ore., but now, just like everyone else on the UFC roster, “The Karate Hottie” finds herself in limbo as she ponders her next assignment.

Speaking to MMA Junkie from her home in Albuquerque, N.M., Waterson (17-7 MMA, 5-3 UFC) said she hopes to be back in the octagon as soon as possible once the coronavirus pandemic has run its course.

“I sure hope so. I kinda don’t know what to expect for the near future for anything, so I’m just staying in shape,” she said. “Luckily I have an amazing house to quarantine in, and my husband is an amazing coach. So just between the two of us we’re able to get good workouts in and stay in shape, so we’re staying in shape and just waiting to hear some good news.”

The natural step would likely be to simply rebook Waterson and Esparza for a future show. But as things stand, the UFC’s main focus is on making UFC 249 happen. After that, Waterson says she’s hoping that event could spark a resurgence, with more locked in and more fights confirmed.

“I haven’t heard anything, but you know, anything can happen at this point,” Waterson said. “I know Dana is working really hard and, honestly, I think his main objective is to get this April 18 card up and going, so everything else that happened prior to that is just kinda … they’re just going to try to fill the slots and everything when the floodgates open. I’m hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. It’s all we can do.”

Waterson had all but finished her fight camp for Esparza (15-6 MMA, 5-4 UFC) when it was revealed that her bout, and the event, had been postponed. As a result, she said she’d love to pick up where she left off and face the former strawweight champion, as planned, whenever things get back on track, and she suggested it wouldn’t necessarily be the straight-up striker-vs.-wrestler style matchup many may think.

“Absolutely, I would love to fight Carla,” she said. “Her and I have been in the game for quite a long time. She was the Invicta champ when I was still fighting atomweight, (and) she was the first UFC champ. I would love to get a crack at her and test my skills against her.

“You never know; it’s MMA. I think Carla’s been working really hard on brushing up on her boxing and trying to be more well rounded. I look forward to fighting the best Carla.”

Waterson says her gut tells her the matchup could happen in May, but with the global shutdown continuing during the COVID-19 pandemic, she joked she might even have to get her competitive fix by taking on her strawweight rival by other means.

“I was going to propose to Carla that we do a virtual fight and see how that goes,” Waterson said. “But I don’t know who we get to judge that.”