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'The Karate Hottie' Michelle Waterson will be fighting Marina Rodriguez on the main card of UFC Fight Night 228 this Saturday, September 23, 2023.
The nickname has been with her from the earliest days of her career as she went on to become the Invicta FC atomweight champion and then a veteran fighter in the UFC.
However, the origin of Michelle Waterson's 'The Karate Hottie' nickname lies in her previous profession as a Hooters waitress. In an appearance on 'Oral Sessions' podcast hosted by Renee Paquette, Michelle Waterson revealed how working at Hooters led to her being called 'The Karate Hottie'.
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Waterson explained that the term came up in a conversation with an individual who owned a website called bikini.com and wanted to feature her on it under the theme of 'Karate Hottie'.
"I tried out for the Hooterscalendar, I went on location to shoot for the calendar. Virgin Islands, it was the coolest thing. We were in the Virgin Islands, I met a guy named Howie and he owned a company called Bikini.com. He got talking to me and found out that I did Karate and he was like ‘I would love to feature you on my website’ and on his website he featured different girls each month. He was like ‘We can theme you the Karate Hottie and we can do bikini shots and karate shots and it will be awesome’ and it stuck," Michelle Waterson explained.
Waterson's first promoter came across the moniker on the internet and thought it was a catchy enough name to use as her fight name.
"My first promoter asked me my fight name and I said no. He then Googled me and that’s what popped up," Michelle Waterson added.
Ahead of her atomweight title fight at Invicta FC 10 against Herica Tiburcio, Waterson told MMA Fighting that she was no longer the person who related to that nickname. But the name still stuck and is part of her branding now. She has carried the nickname to her UFC career as well.
Michelle Waterson will attempt to avenge her loss to Marina Rodriguez at UFC Vegas 228
Michelle Waterson accepted a last-minute main event bout against Marina Rodriguez in May 2021 after Cory Sandhagen vs TJ Dillashaw fell through. In spite of being longtime strawweight fighters, both women agreed to compete at flyweight to avoid short-notice weight cut. Rodriguez controlled the first three rounds of the five-round main event but Waterson rallied in the later frames.
However, the Brazilian had done enough to convince the judges and walked away with a unanimous decision win over Waterson. The former foes will stand across the octagon once again on the main card of UFC Fight Night 228 which takes place on September 23, 2023. Waterson will attempt to make the adjustments and avenge the 2021 loss while snapping her three-fight losing skid.
