Michelle
Waterson-Gomez is calling it a career.
The 15-time Octagon veteran announced her retirement following a
unanimous decision loss to Gillian
Robertson in a preliminary strawweight contest at UFC 303
on Saturday night. “The Karate Hottie” broke down in tears in the
Octagon as the promotion played a tribute video on the big screen
at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The loss to Robertson was her
fifth straight defeat.
“I wouldn’t be the person I am today if it wasn’t for the UFC and
all you fans continuing to push me. Fighting runs through my veins.
It’s made me who I am,” Waterson-Gomez said. “When you fight, you
chase greatness.”
The 38-year-old Waterson-Gomez compiled an 18-13 mark over the
course of a professional MMA career that began in 2007. She
captured the
Invicta FC atomweight crown in 2013 and defended that title
once before relinquishing the belt to Herica
Tiburcio in 2014.
The
Jackson-Wink MMA product would then win five of her first seven
UFC appearances, besting the likes of Paige
VanZant, Felice
Herrig and Karolina
Kowalkiewicz. Waterson-Gomez would struggle from that point
forward, losing seven of her last eight fights within the Las
Vegas-based promotion.