UFC on ESPN+ 35, Michelle Waterson, Angela HIll

Michelle Waterson lands a punch on Angela Hill during their fight in September.

Michelle Waterson-Gomez set to return at UFC 287 against Luana Pinheiro

Michelle Waterson-Gomez will look to return to the win column at UFC 287.

According to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Waterson-Gomez has been booked to return at UFC 287 on April 8 against Luana Pinheiro. The event does not have a location but is rumored to take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Michelle Waterson-Gomez (18-10) is on a two-fight losing skid having lost back-to-back fights to Amanda Lemos – by submission – and decision loss to Marina Rodriguez, which served as the main event. Prior to that, Waterson-Gomez edged out a main event split decision win over Angela Hill.

Waterson-Gomez is currently ranked 11th at strawweight and is 1-4 in her last five. The 37-year-old has been in the UFC since 015 and holds notable wins over Paige VanZant, Cortney Casey, and Karolina Kowalkiewicz among others. She has also headlined four UFC events going 2-2 in main events.

Luana Pinheiro (10-1) is a perfect 2-0 in the UFC and is coming off a decision win over Sam Hughes and prior to that, she won by DQ against Randa Markos in the first-round in her debut. To earn her way into the UFC, the Brazilian scored a first-round knockout over Stephanie Frausto on the Contender Series to earn a UFC deal. Before fighting in the UFC, Pinheiro was fighting in Brave CF with her lone loss coming in 2017 by split decision in her third pro fight. She’s currently ranked 13th at strawweight.

With the addition of Waterson-Gomez vs. Pinheiro, UFC 287 is as follows:

  • Rob Font vs. Adrian Yanez
  • Cynthia Calvillo vs. Loopy Godinez
  • Luana Pinheiro vs. Michelle Waterson-Gomez
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Cole Shelton
Cole Shelton covers MMA for BJPenn.com, MMANews, and MyMMANews.com while also being the lead MMA odds writer for Sports Betting Dime