Immediately after defeating Karolina Kowalkiewicz at UFC Philadelphia this past Saturday, Michelle Waterson began lobbying for her first title shot in the UFC. Waterson has now won three consecutive bouts and is one of the more popular female stars in the UFC, so whether or not she receives a title shot next, she is likely not too far off from it. If Waterson were to receive that title shot and be successful, she would be making history, and this is the biggest motivator for Michelle Waterson’s title aspirations:
“I feel like being a parent alone is just such a huge job, and it is a hard job. And I don’t know, I kind of just want to represent for the parents out there,” Waterson said on The Ariel Helwani MMA Show. “And like you said, there are other moms in the UFC, but I want to be the first. It’s cool to say that you’re the first at something. So I want to be the first champion that’s a mom.
“It gives me motivation when I’m training. And I get stories from people that run into me at the grocery store. And they say they love the message that I’m sending to parents and the message that I’m sending to their children, that it’s a family affair and we’re all in it together.”
The question is, does Michelle Waterson deserve a title shot? She believes so, and she’s not going to apologize for shooting her shot:
“I do,” Waterson responded when asked if she felt she was deserving of a title shot. “I feel like, at this point, what other reason would I be fighting if it wasn’t for the belt? There’s so much sacrifice, time, energy, brain cells put into this sport that if I’m not trying to shoot for the stars, what am I doing? And man, I know I have what it takes. I know I have what it takes to be the champ. So why not? Why not ask for it?”
One individual who has been pegged as a potential next challenger for the strawweight title is undefeated phenom Tatiana Suarez who has run roughshod over every opponent placed in front of her thus far in her UFC career. Michelle Waterson made her case as to why she believe she is more deserving of a title shot than Suarez:
“I feel like I’ve been in the UFC a lot longer than Tatiana, and the females that I’ve faced are of higher caliber. And so I think I’m more deserving of that shot.”
Interestingly enough, Tatiana Suarez added her own two cents to how deserving Waterson is, and Suarez provided her reason as to why Waterson is not even more deserving than Suarez’s next opponent, Nina Ansaroff:
“Because she turned down a fight with me and Nina didn’t ??♀️,” Suarez responded to a fan who asked why Waterson is less deserving than Ansaroff.
Tatiana Suarez and Nina Ansaroff are currently scheduled to fight at UFC 238 on June 8th.
Do you believe Michelle Waterson is currently deserving of a strawweight title shot?
