DC ExtraTime: A UFC Return with A Champs vs. Stars Mom

BY DC CUEVA                      

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

From April 1st when Total Madness began right up until May 8th, it was The Challenge that had to bear the enormous weight of being the only major live sport going on in this country... if you happen to be in the majority who would consider it the fifth major pro sport - and if you decide to not include horse racing in that. But on Mother's Day weekend, it was joined by a sport that, a quarter-century ago, began as an amalgamation of different fighting genres that had its growing pains, and yet grew to become the most prominent combat sport of the moment.

Fight Pictures Courtesy UFC/Getty Images

The Ultimate Fighting Championship had the honor of being the first significant live sports event to be held in the U.S. when UFC 249 was held in Jacksonville on May 9th, made possible by Florida being able to have their doors open to sporting venues in being classified as essential businesses by the state governor's office, provided it is held behind closed doors without fans. As expected for an event as much anticipated and under the public microscope, the fight card was altered several times, from a light heavyweight main event being scrapped to former Strikeforce middleweight titlist Ronaldo Souza testing positive for COVID and having his fight called off after the weigh-ins.

Like the reality TV shows that we cover here, sports has always offered those of you who need it a much-deserved escape, and casual sporting fans joined with the UFC's passionate fanbase for a memorable night of MMA that became the only game in town in a time where the NBA and NHL have yet to restart their seasons and where the first pitch of the Major League Baseball season hasn't started, among other sports. It was so big, that even those who watched the pay-per-view broadcasts were lucky enough to notice tweets from Challenger turned podcast extraordinaire Derrick Kosinski as he led Team MTV who waited a month & a half for The Challenge to have some company.

The undercard saw former lightweight champ Anthony Pettis decision Donald Cerrone in a rematch of their 2013 bout won by a Pettis 1st round KO; heavyweight Aleksei Oleinik beating Fabrício Werdum also on the cards, and controversial former Dallas Cowboy Greg Hardy win his PPV debut. The rest of the night's fights did not go the distance: featherweight Calvin Kattar notched a TKO win over Jeremy Stephens, while the night's shortest work belonged to Francis Ngannou who took all of 20 seconds to knock out Jairzinho Rozenstruik.

The two main events of the evening saw a bantamweight title fight matching 2008 Olympic gold medal wrestler Henry Cejudo from the Bay Area against former titlist Dominick Cruz, and the champion handed a late 2nd round KO to the challenger and then announced his retirement from the Octagon. And the night's last bout saw former World Series of Fighting titleholder Justin Gaethje put on a flurry of punches to score an upset over Ultimate Fighter 13 champion Tony Ferguson and gain the interim lightweight belt, now awaits a possible date with champ Khabib Nurmagomedov.

One other notable fight on the preliminary card was a women's strawweight bout matching the first champion in that weight class, Carla Esparza, and another former champion from the Invicta promotion, Michelle Waterson. If you watched Champs vs. Stars I two years ago - and with the athlete & celebrity-filled spinoffs now airing on the CBS Sports Network, "The Karate Hottie" was on Team Stars that also included Justina Valentine, Ex On The Beach's Romeo, Shawn Johnson and of course Terrell Owens. She was a top-ranked fighter in her early years and beat Paige Van Zant in a main event in 2016 to earn title shots which she hasn't yet converted into titles in the UFC.

In her fight, it went the maximum and was left in the judges hands, which saw them had a split points decision to Esparza. After that fight in the Instagram pic below, Michelle was all but smiles as she captioned: "Blessed to have the opportunity to do what I love, learn and the grow as a marital artist. Just like in life, the fight doesn't always go your way. Thank you for the dance @carlaesparza1 thank you @danawhite and all the @ufc staff for making this happen! Also want to thank all my teammates and coaches who gave me their time and energy. I have the most amazing people in my corner! And i have the most amazing fans! Thank you for always showing me love."

And for a bout delayed by a month because of COVID, Waterson's return to the Octagon would fall on, of all things, Mother's Day weekend... and she got to celebrate that springtime weekend - at least through the TV screen back home - with her biggest fan (aside from her Armed Forces husband) in her 9-year-old daughter Araya, one who her mommy refers to as the "Karate Cutie."

View this post on Instagram

Blessed to have the opportunity to do what I love, learn and the grow as a marital artist. Just like in life, the fight doesn't always go your way. Thank you for the dance @carlaesparza1 thank you @danawhite and all the @ufc staff for making this happen! Also want to thank all my teammates and coaches who gave me their time and energy. I have the most amazing people in my corner! And i have the most amazing fans! Thank you for always showing me love @joshuagomeznm @mmacoachwink @baratagb @smokin_joe_jwmma @izzystylewrestling @gregjacksonmma @doc.chandon @masteryaiyai @karatecutie @hollyholm @rymarzfreitas @captainkealohi @its_willie_v @mrsborg_mma @nashtybusiness92 @lydiapwarren @celinehaga @tevindyce

A post shared by Michelle Waterson (@karatehottiemma) on May 10, 2020 at 4:20am PDT

- I AM DC
#DCBLOG