Strawweight contenders Michelle Waterson and Angela Hill will now compete in a five-round fight next week.
With the Glover Teixeira vs. Thiago Santos matchup rescheduled for Oct. 3 due to Teixeira’s positive COVID-19 test, Waterson vs. Hill has been promoted to the new UFC on ESPN+ 35 main event Sept. 12 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the news to MMA Junkie following an initial report from ESPN.
Waterson (17-8 MMA, 5-4 UFC), a former Invicta FC atomweight champion, is coming off back-to-back losses to former UFC strawweight champions Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Carla Esparza. Prior to that, she was enjoying her best run in the UFC with three straight wins.
Hill (12-8 MMA, 6-8 UFC) saw her three-fight winning streak snapped at the hands of Claudia Gadelha in a narrow split decisionin May. The former Invicta FC strawweight champion will be competing in her fourth fight of the year when she faces Waterson.
With the change, the UFC on ESPN+ 35 lineup includes:
- Angela Hill vs. Michelle Waterson
- Andrea Lee vs. Roxanne Modafferi
- Tyson Nam vs. Matt Schnell
- Bruno Silva vs. Tagir Ulanbekov
- Frank Camacho vs. Brok Weaver
- Kyle Nelson vs. Billy Quarantillo
- Bryan Barberena vs. Anthony Ivy
- Matt Frevola vs. Roosevelt Roberts
- Bobby Green vs. Alan Patrick
- Ed Herman vs. Mike Rodriguez
- Justine Kish vs. Sabina Mazo
- Ottman Azaitar vs. Khama Worthy
- Sijara Eubanks vs. Julia Avila
