Michelle Waterson vs Karolina Kowalkiewicz set for UFC Philadelphia in March
The UFC’s second card on ESPN is getting quite the strawweight matchup. According to Brett Okamoto of ESPN, UFC President Dana White has set Michelle Waterson vs Karolina Kowalkiewicz for March 30 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Breaking: Michelle Waterson vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz will take place on the March 30 UFC Fight Night card in Philadelphia, per Dana White. pic.twitter.com/COzbs87tXd
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) January 9, 2019
The promotion officially announced they were headed to Philadelphia earlier on Tuesday via their Twitter account. The event will take place the The Wells Fargo Center and will be the second event on network channel ESPN as their new partnership begins this year.
Returning to the land of cheesteaks and @GrittyNHL!
We're coming, Philadelphia.
March 30. #UFCPhiladelphia pic.twitter.com/TDt9AdyKsb
— UFC (@ufc) January 8, 2019
Michelle Waterson is currently riding a two-fight win streak with her most recent victory coming over Felice Herrig at UFC 229 where she won by unanimous decision. Prior to the fight against Herrig, Waterson got a split decision victory over Cortney Casey back in April of 2018.
Karolina Kowalkiewicz who is a former strawweight title challenger will be returning to the Octagon after suffering a loss to Jessica Andrade at UFC 228. Prior to her fight against Andrade, Kowalkiewicz was on a two-fight winning streak after dropping fights to former champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Claudia Gadelha.
The matchup could be considered a title eliminator as it is set not too far before champion Rose Namajunas will look to defend her title against Andrade at UFC 237 scheduled for May 11 in Brazil. While Kowalkiewicz was not successful in her title fight against Jedrzejczyk, she does have a win on her record over the current champion, Namajunas. “The Karate Hottie” Michelle Waterson has yet to compete for the strawweight title since entering the UFC.
The visit to the Wells Fargo Center will mark the third visit for the UFC to Philadelphia as it was home to UFC 101 where former champion B.J. Penn defended his lightweight title against Kenny Florian, and it was also the home to UFC 133 where Rashad Evans took on Tito Ortiz back in 2011.
Michelle Waterson vs Karolina Kowalkiewicz is the first official booking for the UFC’s return to Philadelphia.
