Greg Moore of AZ Central reported yesterday that Michelle Waterson vs Cortney Casey has been added to UFC on FOX 29 Apr. 14 at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, AZ. The UFC has an interesting problem with Michelle that we have also seen with Paige VanZant. Michelle has mainstream crossover potential because of her looks, she's very appealing and she has some big name sponsors like Samsung. Michelle is 32 years old and she has been a fighter since 2007. So I have covered her entire career. The problem with her is she is an Atomweight, not a Strawweight. When she first came to the UFC, I predicted that she would have problems at Strawweight. And that has turned out to be true. Michelle is 2-2 in the UFC and she lost her most recent fights to Rose Namajunas and Tecia Torres. She's too small to fight at Strawweight. I don't know what the UFC will do with her if she keeps losing. I suppose they could start an Atomweight division. But other than that, she's too popular to release. How long can she keep losing? I think the UFC will keep her around for the immediate future. Cortney is an Arizona native. She lived in Hawaii for a long time. But she now trains at MMA Lab in Glendale. She has also had mixed results. Her record is 7-5 and 3-4 in the UFC. She lost her last fight to Felice Herrig by split decision. Neither fighter looked good. She's probably not an elite fighter and she doesn't have the crossover potential that Michelle has. I think they are very even as fighters. But Cortney's size advantage could tip the scales in her favor.
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