UFC Vegas 10 Bonus Coverage

A five-round battle between Michelle Waterson and Angela Hill saw a pair of contending strawweights scrapping for every bit of their 25-minute battle. In the end, Waterson edged Hill by split decision, regaining some traction in her bid for the 115-pound title.

Hill was the aggressor early, tagging Waterson with a few heavy overhand shots, which Waterson took well. Waterson dove in early for a few takedowns, but to no avail. “Overkill” continued to press with her standup attack after warding off the grappling exchanges and led the dance for most of the first round.

Waterson turned things around a bit in her second round, mixing in kicks and punches during long combinations and pushing the action. Hill connected with a heavy right hand, but Waterson wasn’t deterred and returned with pleasure. 

The damage showed on Waterson more as she sported a bloodied nose and some swelling around both eyes. However, she finally secured a takedown early into round three, taking Hill’s back with less than two minutes to go. Hill was able to escape the danger but remained on bottom, fending off Waterson’s ground-and-pound.

The “Karate Hottie” went back to the grappling well in the fourth, but Hill shucked her off while firing several strikes. Waterson obliged, again staying busy with a mixture of front and side kicks from both stances. Both advanced and retreated without much to separate the two heading into the final frame.

In the fifth round, neither fighter wilted and showed great urgency to secure the win. Waterson pushed the action early in the round and kept things at her range more frequently, but midway through, Hill found the energy to string together combinations of her own. As the clock wound down, the two stood and traded knees, elbows, punches and kicks until the end of the bout.

There were fewer moments of pure joy than Kevin Croom’s UFC debut win. 

Stepping in on short-notice, the mixed martial arts veteran made his Octagon debut in his 33rd professional fight. Moreover, he scored a first-round submission over highly-touted lightweight prospect Roosevelt Roberts in less than a minute. 

Croom got things going early, dropping Roberts with a heavy left hand early, and as he swarmed, he saw the opportunity for a guillotine, which earned the tap 31 seconds into the bout.

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In his second fight in the Octagon, Ottman Azaitar kept his streak of first-round knockouts going in the co-main event of the night, needing just more than 90 seconds to stop Khama Worthy in his tracks.

The two participated in a brief feeling out process, after which they clashed. Azaitar’s power was evident, stunning Worthy with a pair of punches before unloading a barrage of heavy shots. Worthy stumbled to the floor for an attempted takedown, but Azaitar took the opportunity to rain down heavy right hands before the fight was stopped.