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A five-round battle between Michelle Waterson and Angela Hill saw a pair of contending strawweights scrapping for every bit of their 25-minute battle. In the end, Waterson edged Hill by split decision, regaining some traction in her bid for the 115-pound title.
Hill was the aggressor early, tagging Waterson with a few heavy overhand shots, which Waterson took well. Waterson dove in early for a few takedowns, but to no avail. “Overkill” continued to press with her standup attack after warding off the grappling exchanges and led the dance for most of the first round.
Waterson turned things around a bit in her second round, mixing in kicks and punches during long combinations and pushing the action. Hill connected with a heavy right hand, but Waterson wasn’t deterred and returned with pleasure.
The damage showed on Waterson more as she sported a bloodied nose and some swelling around both eyes. However, she finally secured a takedown early into round three, taking Hill’s back with less than two minutes to go. Hill was able to escape the danger but remained on bottom, fending off Waterson’s ground-and-pound.
The “Karate Hottie” went back to the grappling well in the fourth, but Hill shucked her off while firing several strikes. Waterson obliged, again staying busy with a mixture of front and side kicks from both stances. Both advanced and retreated without much to separate the two heading into the final frame.
In the fifth round, neither fighter wilted and showed great urgency to secure the win. Waterson pushed the action early in the round and kept things at her range more frequently, but midway through, Hill found the energy to string together combinations of her own. As the clock wound down, the two stood and traded knees, elbows, punches and kicks until the end of the bout.