Michelle Waterson pulls out of UFC 257 clash against Amanda Ribas; Marina Rodriguez steps in

Perennial UFC women’s strawweight contender Michelle Waterson has been forced to pull out of her upcoming fight against surging contender Amanda Ribas at UFC 257.

According to MMAFighting.com, Michelle Waterson has withdrawn from the January 23 card which is, in all likelihood, set to take place at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. No reason has been given for Waterson's withdrawal yet.

UFC 257 is set to be headlined by a massive lightweight encounter between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier. Waterson's withdrawal from the card meant that Ribas was temporarily left without an opponent.

However, per AG Fight, the UFC has managed to rope in Marina Rodriguez to step in for The Karate Hottie. Marina is the #8 ranked strawweight in the official rankings, while Amanda Ribas is #9. We can expect a thrilling encounter between two highly talented fighters to potentially decide who breaks into the top five of the strawweight division.

Marina Rodriguez vs. Amanda Ribas looks set to be a riveting contest

Marina Rodriguez has a solid career record of 12-1-2, but her performances inside the Octagon have been very inconsistent so far. Marina is 2-1-2 in the UFC and will be looking to improve her record when she takes on Amanda Ribas in January.

In her most recent appearance inside the Octagon, the Brazilian succumbed to a unanimous decision loss to Carla Esparza. This was the first loss of her career.

However, Marina Rodriguez has beaten the likes of Jessica Aguilar and Tecia Torres. Rodriguez also has a couple of draws in the UFC against Randa Markos and Cynthia Calvillo.

Amanda Ribas is 10-1 in her professional career and is quickly growing into one of the most popular fighters in the strawweight division. A win against Rodriguez will potentially open up the opportunity for a title shot soon.

Ribas is undefeated inside the Octagon, having won all four of her fights since joining the UFC back in 2019. Her most recent win came in the 125lbs division against former UFC women's flyweight Paige VanZant at UFC 251.