| UFC Fight Night: Waterson vs. Hill | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC Fight Night: Waterson vs. Hill | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | September 12, 2020 (2020-09-12) | |||
| Venue | UFC Apex | |||
| City | Enterprise, Nevada, United States | |||
| Attendance | None (behind closed doors)[1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC Fight Night: Waterson vs. Hill (also known asUFC Fight Night 177,UFC on ESPN+ 35 andUFC Vegas 10) was amixed martial arts event produced by theUltimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 12, 2020, at theUFC Apex facility inEnterprise, Nevada, part of theLas Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States.[2]
A light heavyweight bout between formerUFC Light Heavyweight Championship challengersThiago Santos andGlover Teixeira was originally scheduled to serve as the event headliner.[3] However, it was announced on September 3 that Teixeiratested positive for COVID-19 and the bout was rescheduled for October 3 atUFC on ESPN: Holm vs. Aldana.[4]
A women's strawweight bout between formerInvicta FC Atomweight ChampionMichelle Waterson and formerInvicta FC Strawweight ChampionAngela Hill was initially scheduled to take place three weeks earlier atUFC on ESPN: Munhoz vs. Edgar.[5] However, due to undisclosed personal reasons for Waterson, the bout was moved to this event.[6] Subsequently, the pairing was announced as the new main event after the postponement of Santos/Teixeira.[7][8] This was the first time in UFC history that a bout involving anAfrican-American woman served as the event headliner.[9]
A lightweight bout betweenRoosevelt Roberts andMatt Frevola was previously scheduled to take placeat another event earlier in the year.[10] However, that event was cancelled in mid-March due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[11] The pairing was rescheduled for this event.[12] In turn, Frevola pulled out of the fight on September 11 citing an injury and was replaced byKevin Croom.[13]
A light heavyweight bout betweenEd Herman andGerald Meerschaert was previously scheduled for August 1 atUFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Shahbazyan.[14] However, on the day of the event it was announced that the bout had been scrapped from the card after Meerschaert tested positive for COVID-19.[15] The pairing was left intact and was rescheduled for this event.[16] In turn, Meerschaert once again pulled out of the bout and was replaced byJohn Allan. Allan already had a bout booked againstRoman Dolidze on November 21 atUFC 255, but was expected to compete in both of them.[17] Herman then suffered another opponent change on September 3, as Allan pulled out due tovisa issues and was replaced byMike Rodríguez.[18]
A lightweight bout betweenKhama Worthy andOttman Azaitar was previously scheduled to take place earlier this year atUFC 249.[19] However, the event was cancelled in early April due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[20] The pairing was then rescheduled forUFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Sakai a week earlier.[21] In turn, they were moved to this event due to undisclosed reasons.[22]
A lightweight bout betweenAlan Patrick and Rodrigo Vargas was scheduled for this event, but Vargas was removed from the card in early September for undisclosed reasons and replaced byBobby Green.[23]
A flyweight bout between promotional newcomerTagir Ulanbekov andBruno Gustavo da Silva was expected to take place at this event.[24] However, due totravel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the pairing was rescheduled and expected to take place four weeks later atUFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen.[25]
Frank Camacho was scheduled to faceBrok Weaver in a lightweight bout at this event. However, Camacho was removed from the bout during the week leading up to the fight after testing positive for COVID-19. Weaver instead facedJalin Turner in a catchweight bout of 165 pounds.[26]
A flyweight bout betweenMatt Schnell andTyson Nam was expected to take place at this event. However, Schnell was removed from the fight on the day of the event's weigh-in for health issues related to his weight cut. As a result, the fight was canceled.[27]
| Main card (ESPN+) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Women's Strawweight | Michelle Waterson | def. | Angela Hill | Decision (split) (47–48, 49–46, 48–47) | 5 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Ottman Azaitar | def. | Khama Worthy | TKO (punches) | 1 | 1:33 | |
| Women's Flyweight | Roxanne Modafferi | def. | Andrea Lee | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Ed Herman | def. | Mike Rodríguez | Submission (kimura) | 3 | 4:01 | |
| Lightweight | Bobby Green | def. | Alan Patrick | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Featherweight | Billy Quarantillo | def. | Kyle Nelson | KO (punch) | 3 | 0:07 | |
| Preliminary card (ESPN+) | |||||||
| Women's Bantamweight | Sijara Eubanks | def. | Julia Avila | Decision (unanimous) (29–27, 29–27, 29–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Kevin Croom | vs. | Roosevelt Roberts | No Contest (overturned) | 1 | 0:31 | [a] |
| Heavyweight | Alexander Romanov | def. | Roque Martinez | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | 2 | 4:22 | |
| Catchweight (165 lb) | Jalin Turner | def. | Brok Weaver | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 2 | 4:20 | |
| Welterweight | Bryan Barberena | def. | Anthony Ivy | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Women's Flyweight | Sabina Mazo | def. | Justine Kish | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 3 | 3:57 | |
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[30]
On September 18, it was announced that Mike Rodríguez will appeal his submission loss against Ed Herman citing a referee error. During the second round, Rodríguez landed a knee to Herman's body in a clinch up against the cage. Herman immediately dropped and before Rodríguez was able to deliver more strikes, referee Chris Tognoni stepped in and called a pause to the action due to a possible low blow. Herman was allowed five minutes to recover as a standard procedure and eventually won the fight in the third round. Also of note in the appeal, Rodríguez's team alleged that during the finishing sequence Herman illegally had his toes in the fence to sweep into top position and gain more leverage for the hold.[31] Subsequently, the request for an appeal was denied by theNevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC).[32]
On November 4, it was announced that the NSAC issued a four and a half month suspension for Kevin Croom, after he tested positive formarijuana in a pre-fight drug test. They also announced that Croom's victory was overturned to a no contest due to the violation. He was fined $1,800 and before he is re-licensed in Las Vegas, Croom will also have to pay a prosecution fee of $145.36.[28]
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