Everything you need to know about UFC Fight Night Rodriguez vs. Waterson

ACC UFC resident expert Felix Heath-Collins with everything you need to know ahead of UFC Fight Night Rodriguez vs. Waterson.

The UFC returns this weekend with the somewhat disappointing Fight Night: Rodriguez vs. Waterson. Formerly this fight night was headlined by a very intriguing fight between hot bantamweight prospect Corey "The Sandman" Sandhagen and former bantamweight champion and admitted drug cheat TJ Dillashaw. Many MMA fans were excited for that particular fight due in equal parts to Sandhagen's spectacularly violent style, and to the tantalizing possibility of seeing some of that spectacular violence committed against the near-universally hated Dillashaw.

Instead, the MMA gods have forsaken us. TJ Dillashaw got a nasty gash from a headbutt in training, and now the fight has been rescheduled to a future UFC card. It's pretty common for a UFC event to lose its headliner, but it's especially devastating in this case because of how hotly anticipated this fight was. To understand my pain you have to understand that Corey "The Sandman" Sandhagen has been knocking dudes out, and TJ Dillashaw is a dude many fans want to see knocked out. The only problem with Sandhagen's last fight was that his brutal basketball 'slam-dunk' style flying knee KO had to come against the legendary Frankie "The Answer" Edgar. Now just imagine if it was TJ Dillashaw's soul leaving his body in that fight, and then you might begin to understand. If you still don't understand, just watch more TJ Dillashaw being TJ Dillashaw, and you'll catch on pretty quick.

In lieu of that fantastic fight to headline we have the relatively underwhelming Women's strawweight fight between fresh contender Marina Rodriguez (13-1) (Wins-Losses) and veteran contender Michelle "Karate Hottie" Waterson (18-8). After the epic fighters from the women's divisions showcased just a couple weeks ago ("Thug" Rose Namajunas, Weili Zhang, Valentina "The Bullet" Shevchenko, and Jessica Andrade), this particular fight might not get the same attention it would usually. At the least it's going to be hard for these two women to beat the performances put on by their peers back at UFC 261. Also notable is that this fight will be up a weight class from strawweight to flyweight because of the short-notice, but it will be fought over five rounds as UFC main events typically do.

Marina Rodriguez and Michelle "Karate Hottie" Waterson now look to capitalize on their unexpected position of getting to headline a fight night on short notice. Rodriguez is a slick kickboxer rising through the women's strawweight division with some exciting fights and some exciting finishes including her last fight which ended with an early second round TKO via punches. Waterson has lived up to her nickname through her career (as a "karate" specialist, no comment on the "hottie" part). Waterson utilizes a mix of fast, technical kicking along with élite footwork and some slick submission skills. She generally wins either by a judge's decision over the distance (points), or by a submission (tap out and/or choke out). If the fight remains standing these two women should go to war, and will hopefully prove me wrong for doubting their ability to replace the original main event.

Other fight night highlights:

In the co-main event longtime MMA legend Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone (36-15) faces a replacement fighter in Alex "The Great White" Morono (18-7) after his original opponent Diego "The Nightmare" Sánchez was cut from the fight (and cut from the promotion overall) due to mental health issues, and the strange outbursts of his head coach. It's a long story. For "Cowboy" Cerrone however, this new fight could be trouble. Not only is his opponent Alex "The Great White" Morono relatively unknown (to me), he's also in his athletic prime at thirty, eight years younger than the weathered Muay Thai gunslinger in "Cowboy" Cerrone. So even winning here might not do much for the elder statesman of the division in Cerrone. He's hard to root against though. Even though he does have a history of racism, transphobia, and support of some nonsensical far-right talking points (such as anti-mask propaganda).

In what many hardcore MMA fans expect to be the highlight fight of the night lightweight prospect Carlos Diego Ferreira (17-3) faces dominating lightweight wrestler Gregor "The Gift" Gillespie (13-1). While it might not win many casual fans' hearts, this fight should be a high-paced, technical mix of striking and grappling that I expect to end in a finish, although who actually wins is hard to say. My best bet would be a submission by Ferreira since his offensive BJJ (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) is such a strong aspect of his game, and because Gillespie will likely be looking to secure the takedowns early and often.

Finally, my fight of the night comes in as the second fight of the preliminary card between brilliantly named "The Iron Turtle" Jun Yong Park (12-4) and terrifying knockout puncher Tafon "Cameroon Express" Nchukwi (5-0). Do I really need to explain why it's the best fight of the night for me? Well for one "The Iron Turtle" is almost definitely a scrapped fifth Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. Plus who wouldn't want to find out if "The Iron Turtle" can withstand the power of the "Cameroon Express"? Oh, and "The Iron Turtle" has the cutest little squeaky voice ever heard from such a legitimate savage. So there's that to look forward to in the post fight interview, if he does win spectacularly.

So overall the UFC seems to have salvaged a critically damaged fight night. Although it probably won't appeal to casual fans anymore, this card has the potential to be truly great.

The main card starts at 12.00 PM on Sunday for us here in New Zealand, and the preliminary card starts at 9.00 AM (just in case you wanted to get in on some Sunday morning Ninja Turtles action like me).