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UFC Vegas 10: Waterson vs. Hill - Winners and Losers
by Trent ReinsmithWhen the original main event of UFC Vegas 10 fell through, there were fans who rolled their eyes at the thought of Michelle Waterson and Angela Hill moving into the top spot. Those fans should feel foolish after the performances Waterson and Hill delivered on Saturday night.
Waterson and Hill went the full 25 minutes and when the fight ended, no one seemed to know who would get their hand raised in victory. The stress increased when Bruce Buffer made it clear it was a split decision when he announced that the first judge scored the bout in favor of Angela Hill. The two other judges saw it for Waterson.
Hill was visibly disappointed with the call, which was her second straight split decision setback. Waterson was obviously elated with her victory, which ended a two-fight losing skid.
Hill could take some solace in the fact the scrap drew the praise of UFC president Dana White, who said at the post-fight press conference, “This is one of those fights where there is no loser. It was razor thin, it was so close and whoever won, I wouldn’t have said anything either way.”
The promotion awarded Waterson and Hill “Fight of the Night” honors for their efforts.
Read on for the winners and losers of UFC Vegas 10.
Winners
Michelle Waterson and Angela Hill: Waterson got the nod from the judges in this one, but the fight could have very easily gone to Hill. If you don’t believe that, well, take a look over here.
The 25-minute contest was an exciting one. Waterson struggled early with the pace and distance of Hill. Waterson seemed to find her groove a bit when she got a takedown in the third stanza. That takedown might have changed the course of the fight. At the very least it gave Waterson a bump in confidence as she was more aggressive in the last two rounds than she was in the first two.
Hill seemed to drop off a little in her output and her control of range in the final 10 minutes and that could have cost her the fight. Had she been as aggressive in the last 10 minutes as she was in the first, the outcome might have been different.
As White said, there wasn’t really a loser in this fight and hopefully the rankings will reflect that when they are updated.
This was an excellent fight and it was worthy of its main event spot.
Ottman Azaitar: Azaitar seems to be in a hurry to put together a UFC highlight reel. Two fights into his run with the promotion, the 30-year-old has earned himself two first-round stoppages. On Saturday he blasted Khama Worthy early and finished the fight with strikes in 93 seconds. The depth of the lightweight division should allow Azaitar some time to develop, but I don’t know if there are going to be many fighters raising their hands to meet him inside the octagon.
Azaitar’s nickname of “Bulldozer” is very fitting.
Roxanne Modafferi: Modafferi, who is known for her grappling, relied more on her striking in her matchup against Andrea Lee. Sure, Modafferi earned herself some takedowns and ground control time, but she didn’t force those takedowns. Instead, Modafferi waited for the opportunity to take the fight to the mat and capitalized on those opportunities. She could do so because of her improved striking and her confidence in that striking. The win moved Modafferi’s UFC record to 4-4.
Bobby Green: The 34-year-old Bobby Green has taken advantage of the fights available to him at the UFC Apex because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He is now on a three-fight winning streak in 2020 with a one-sided win over Alan Patrick. Green can sometimes be a frustrating fighter, but it looks as if he has put things together these days.
After the win, Green had no interest in talking about his fight. Green cut things off by saying he was heartbroken to learn about the death of Iranian wrestler Navid Akfari who was executed on Saturday.
Billy Quarantillo: Kyle Nelson seemed to think he was a better striker than Billy Quarantillo. Early in the fight, Nelson might have been the more powerful striker, but he was not the more well-rounded striker. Quarantillo used his skills to tire Nelson in the clinch and when Nelson slowed, Quarantillo worked him over. He was especially good in landing elbows and knees in close. However, the highlight of Quarantillo’s win was the shot to the eye that ended the fight in the early moments of Round 3.
Sijara Eubanks: Eubanks took what Julia Avila gave her and she made Avila pay. Eubanks did not seem all that interested in slugging it out with Avila and so, after a flurry to start each round, Eubanks took the fight to the ground. That approach paid off in the second and third round when her heavy top game allowed her to control Avila on the ground. A very good win for Eubanks, who has struggled to maintain momentum in the UFC.
Kevin Croom: Croom made his MMA debut in 2009. He was 4-2 when he faced a debuting Justin Gaethje in 2011. Gaethje defeated him via slam in the first round. We know what Gaethje has achieved since that fight.
Croom made his UFC debut on Saturday and he made the most of that opportunity when he dropped the favored Roosevelt Roberts and then submitted him in 31 seconds to set the UFC lightweight record for fastest finish. Croom looked excellent and he will have a lot of fans looking forward to his next outing. Very impressive work from the debuting fighter.
Alexander Romanov: Romanov entered his fight against Roque Martinez undefeated. He left the octagon undefeated after what looked like an easy submission win. Romanov was dominant in every way. He threw Romanov around the octagon, he worked submissions, he showed his ground striking skills and he looked like he could be a problem for other UFC heavyweights. The thing is, it’s hard to gauge Romanov since he was so beyond Martinez in the talent department. Whatever the case, I am very interested to see how Romanov fares against a (much) higher level opponent.
Jalin Turner: Turner is now on a two-fight winning streak and he made it look easy in beating up Brok Turner on Saturday. Turner was relaxed and effective in his striking. The speed of his striking was also something to behold, as were his nasty body kicks. Turner had a weird moment in the second stanza when he did not follow Turner down to the mat to go to the finish, but it worked out for him as he ended up with his first submission victory in over three years. The 25-year-old Turner is someone to keep an eye on.
Bryan Barberena: Barberena wanted to strike with Anthony Ivy and that’s what he did. He threw more than double the number of strikes that Ivy attempted and landed 50 percent of those strikes. The bout was Barberena’s first since June 2019 and he did not show cage rust. He worked through Ivy’s takedown and clinch attempts and made use of any space he had to land heavy strikes.
Sabina Mazo: Mazo had an advantage in reach in both her legs and arms against Justine Kish, but for the first two rounds, she seemed much too focused on using her kicks, which made her somewhat predictable. Mazo picked things up in the third stanza and mixed things up with her striking by adding an active jab. That adjustment allowed Mazo to land a heavy head kick that dropped Kish. Once Kish was on the mat, Mazo quickly wrapped up the rear-naked choke for the submission win.
At 23, Mazo is still a developing fighter, but she shows promise. She did not give up during this bout and the finish was impressive.
Losers
Khama Worthy: Worthy entered his bout against Ottman Azaitar on a seven-fight winning streak. Two of those fights were UFC finishes. Worthy was outmatched in the striking department by the powerful Azaitar.
Andrea Lee: Lee wanted to avoid the ground with Roxanne Modafferi, but she did not and that might have cost her the fight. Lee had her moments, but it’s likely that Modafferi’s ground control earned her the win. Lee has lost her past three outings.
Alan Patrick: Patrick gave it the old college try against Bobby Green, but Green was just better at everything Patrick tried and that allowed Green to cruise to the win.
Kyle Nelson: Nelson started strong, but faded fast against Billy Quarantillo. By the end of the second stanza, Nelson seemed to have run out of gas. The one minute break before the third round did nothing to help Nelson, who caught a right to the orbital bone that ended the fight seven seconds into the final round. Nelson needs to work on his pace and cardio.
Julia Avila: It looked as if Avila wanted to slug it out with Sijara Eubanks in the early going of each round of their fight. Eubanks obliged for a bit, but she then decided a ground fight would be more to her liking. That was a wise decision as Eubanks dominated the battle on the mat. The decision loss to Eubanks gives Avila something to work on and that’s getting back to her feet when she can’t grab a submission from the bottom. This fight should serve as an excellent learning experience for Avila.
Roosevelt Roberts: It’s not good when the UFC commentator is reading a text from you saying how you are going to knock out your opponent while you are getting dropped and then submitted in 31 seconds, but that’s what happened to Roberts. Roberts was the biggest favorite on the card, but he got smoked by Kevin Croom. This fight will — and should — haunt Roberts for a long while.
Roque Martinez: Martinez got booked to face Alexander Romanov on very short notice and I’m sorry, but it seemed as if Martinez was booked simply because he answered the phone. He had nothing to offer Romanov and he just looked like a sparring partner for the unbeaten Romanov.
Brok Weaver: Weaver has now been submitted in two straight fights. With that, I don’t know how long he will remain with the UFC. Weaver has some things going for him. He’s pretty tough and he isn’t paid much. Those things may save him his job, but as a fighter he has nothing that he’s great at and with that he might serve as a stepping stone for another fighter.
Justine Kish: Kish was very effective during the first two rounds of her matchup opposite Sabina Mazo. She was active with her striking, mixed up her techniques and did a good job of working with a reach disadvantage. Kish’s downfall was not adjusting when Mazo changed things up in the third round. With Mazo mixing up her striking and Kish still looking for kicks, Mazo was able to drop Kish and get the submission.
Kish had a good first two rounds, but her failure to adjust was a big reason she had to tap out in the third stanza.
Anthony Ivy: Ivy made his game plan clear in the early going, he wanted to work in the clinch and get the fight to the mat. When he wasn’t in those spaces, Turner looked as if he wanted nothing to do with the striking of Bryan Barberena. Defensively, Ivy did a good job of covering up when Barberena threw his hands, but that style came across poorly and it appeared as if Barberena’s striking was more effective than it might have been. Ivy’s inability to do damage with his striking and his lack of output cost him in this matchup.
Neither
Mike Rodriguez and Ed Herman: Well, this was a frustrating one. Rodriguez should have won the fight in the second round via TKO, but referee Chris Tognoni mistook a knee to the body as a low blow and gave Herman five minutes to recover. In the post-fight interview Herman said he’d have to rewatch the video and see where the strike landed, but he acknowledged he was hurt from the strike. Herman came back to win the fight by submission in the third.
I don’t think anyone should be upset with Herman or Rodriguez, but Tognoni deserves criticism. It’s going to be interesting to see where this fight goes. I’d be very surprised if Rodriguez’s team does not look to have the finish overturned.