Angela Hill on UFC Vegas 10 loss: ‘A takedown would’ve made a world of difference’

For the second straight time, Angela Hill is on the losing end of a split decision verdict. She experienced that same disappointment during her headliner fight against Michelle Waterson on Saturday.

“Overkill” dictated the pace on the feet for the first two rounds. Tides changed in the third round when Waterson scored a takedown and brought the action to the ground.

Hill got to assess her performance during the post-fight media scrum, where she also admitted that adding more wrestling and grappling to her arsenal would benefit her more.

“I lost the third round because I couldn’t get up,” Hill said (transcript by MMA Junkie). “I felt bad about kicking her in the face, but I was aiming for the chest. And then the fourth, I didn’t go forward enough. I was worried about the takedown too much. In the fifth, I finally said ‘f—k it’ and went forward and did everything that I should’ve done in the fourth round, and I still didn’t get that fifth round. It sucks.

“It was close. This fight was a lot closer than the (Claudia) Gadelha fight when it came to strikes landed because she was landing some push kicks to the face and a couple of side kicks when I was hesitating. I thought this fight was closer than the last one. I tried to blitz her, but I felt like I did way more damage.

“It sucks I’m on the losing end again. I have to start taking f—ng down again, hugging them more.”

As she goes back to the drawing board, Hill plans to focus more on her takedown game.

“I think I’m just going to stay ready, stay grinding in the gym, and I think it’s important to start working on takedowns in my game plan just to switch things up,” she said.

“I’ve said it every time I’ve had a loss like this where it was a close decision, or I felt like I got robbed: Every time I’ve had a fight like that, a takedown would’ve made a world of difference just because the way MMA is scored. That’s a big thing I need to sit down and work on.”

On the bright side, the 35-year-old strawweight contender did take home a $50K bonus for Fight of the Night honors.

In This Stream

UFC Vegas 10: Waterson vs. Hill previews, predictions, play-by-play, results, analysis, highlights, more

• The Mookie & Crookie Show 87: Poirier-Ferguson off, UFC Vegas 10 recap
• Hill on Waterson loss: ‘A takedown would’ve made a world of difference’
• UFC Vegas 10: Waterson vs. Hill - Fights to Make

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