Michelle Waterson and Amanda Lemos face off on Saturday afternoon in a women’s strawweight showdown in the co-main event of UFC on ABC 3 at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York. Waterson is currently ranked 10th in the division while Lemos is ranked 11th.
Michelle “The Korean Hottie” Waterson comes into this fight with an 18-9 record overall, but she has lost two of his last three fights. In Waterson’s last fight game against Marina Rodriguez in May of 2021, Waterson was outstruck 125-88 and that led to the unanimous decision loss. Two fights ago against Angela Hill, Waterson was outstruck also, but won by split decision. Waterson is averaging 3.57 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 4.13 significant strikes per minute. She is averaging 1.40 takedowns every 15 minutes but only successful on 32 percent of her takedown attempts. She also stops 67 percent of her opponent's takedown attempts. In this fight, Waterson needs to try and limit the damage.
On the other side of this fight is Amanda Lemos who sits with an 11-2-1 record overall and she has won five of her last six fights. In April of 2022, Lemos faced off with Jessica Andrade and it was in the first round that she lost by an arm triangle. In December of 2021 against Angela Hill, Lemos won by a split decision. In the two previous two wins, Lemos won by knockout. Lemos is averaging 5.14 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 4.42 significant strikes per minute. Lemos is averaging 1.12 takedowns every 15 minutes and she is successful on 57 percent of his takedown attempts. She also stops 88 percent of her opponents' takedown attempts. Lemos is averaging 0.3 submission attempts every 15 minutes.
These two fighters used to be training partners, so they are very familiar with each other. Waterson is better with the kicks, while Lemos is the better boxer. Lemos has a ton of power, but I expect Waterson is going to come into this fight with a strong game plan. Waterson is going to use the leg kicks to her advantage, and if she gets the fight to the ground, she has a big advantage here. Look for Waterson to avoid the power of Lemos here, and she will secure the victory. Back Waterson on the money line.
AUTHOR: Shane Mickle
Mitch's Take...
