Originally, the main event at UFC on ESPN 24 was going to pit two-time UFC Bantamweight Champion T.J. Dillashaw against Cory Sandhagen, which would have been Dillashaw’s return to the Octagon from a two-year ban due to a positive test for EPO, a banned substance that caused his title to be vacated. On April 27, Dillashaw pulled out because of a cut he got in training from a headbutt. Sandhagen also came off the card, and their pairing will be rescheduled later. The main event is now a women’s flyweight fight between onetime Invicta FC Atomweight Champion Michelle Waterson and Marina Rodriguez. They are going up a class from their usual strawweight status because the booking took place at such short notice. The co-main event will pit Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone against Alex Morono in a welterweight tussle.
We have the full fight card along with UFC betting thoughts on the top two fights.
UFC on ESPN 24: Rodriguez vs Waterson Preview
Main Card (ESPN / ESPN+)
Marina Rodriguez vs Michelle Waterson (Women’s Flyweight)
Donald Cerrone vs Alex Morono (Welterweight)
Neil Magny vs Geoff Neal (Welterweight)
Marcos Rogerio de Lima vs Maurice Greene (Heavyweight)
Carlos Diego Ferreira vs Gregor Gillespie (Lightweight)
Amanda Ribas vs Angela Hill (Women’s Strawweight)
Preliminary Card (ESPN+)
Ben Rothwell vs Philipe Lins (Heavyweight)
Phil Hawes vs Kyle Daukaus (Middleweight)
L’udovit Klein vs Michael Trizano (Featherweight)
Ryan Benoit vs Zarrukh Adashev (Flyweight)
Jun Yong Park vs Tafon Nchukwi (Middleweight)
Christian Aguilera vs Carlston Harris (Welterweight)
Marina Rodriguez (13-1-2, 3-1-2 UFC, -220) vs Michelle Waterson (18-8, 6-4 UFC, +180) is Rodriguez’s first fight since a knockout win, although she does have some questions to answer about her championship qualifications. She fought to a draw in her UFC debut, getting demolished on the ground in the first round but using her striking in the last two rounds to come back. However, she has not shown any improvement on the mat. In Waterson’s case, she had done well in Invicta FC at atomweight, a classification that UFC did not offer, and there was some doubt as to her chances against opponents that were bigger and stronger. However, she beat Angela Magana and Paige VanZant in her first two fights, showing that she could hang. Waterson uses her speed on her feet and ends up bringing opponents to the ground, despite her usual size disadvantage. She beat Angela Hill in a main event in September, so she is still a force in the division. However, Waterson struggles against tall kickboxers — but has surprising power, especially for her size. Waterson has the skills to stack up enough points, and the defense to avoid problems in the later rounds.
Final Prediction:
Waterson wins via decision
Donald Cerrone (36-15, 23-12 UFC, -130) vs Alex Morono (18-7, 7-4 UFC, +110) is the latest installment in “Cowboy” Cerrone’s willingness to accept any fight at any point in time, which is why he has 51 career bouts, 35 in UFC. He will tie Jim Miller with a record 36 UFC fights with this tilt, and he already has more wins (23) than any other UFC fighter. Cerrone comes in on a five-fight winless streak, dating back to May 19. Four of those were losses, and the fifth was a draw against Niko Price that ended up turning into a no contest. He hung tough against Price and Anthony Pettis, but he also took quick defeats at the hands of Conor McGregor and Justin Gaethje. Morono is likely to turn this fight into a war, because he likes to bring pressure from the get-go, not stopping until the fight has reached a conclusion, one way or the other. In the case of Cerrone, he has the experience to turn that aggression into opportunity, and so Cerrone should be able to finish the co-main event early.
Final Prediction:
Cerrone wins via submission
UFC Betting Odds
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