Waterson-Gomez vs Pinheiro

Who won Waterson-Gomez vs Pinheiro?

Luana Pinheiro beat Michelle Waterson-Gomez by split decision in their 3 round contest during the prelims of UFC 287, on Saturday 8th April 2023 at Miami-Dade Arena in Miami.

The scorecards were announced in favor of the winner Luana Pinheiro.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Women’s Strawweight division, which meant the weight limit was 115 pounds (8.2 stone or 52.2 KG).

Waterson-Gomez vs Pinheiro stats

Michelle Waterson-Gomez stepped into the octagon with a record of 18 wins, 10 losses and 0 draws, 3 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 9 by submission.

Luana Pinheiro made her way to the cage with a record of 10 wins, 1 loss and 0 draws, 2 of those wins coming by knock out and 5 by submission.

This was Michelle Waterson-Gomez's 15th fight in the UFC, having made her debut for the promotion in 2015. Luana Pinheiro marked her 7th fight for them, having made her own debut for the promotion in 2021.

Michelle Waterson-Gomez's UFC record stood at 6-9-0, while Luana Pinheiro's came in at 3-4-0.

The stats suggested Pinheiro had a slight advantage in power over Waterson, with a 20% knock out percentage over Waterson's 17%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested that Waterson and Pinheiro would have been pretty equal, both with a 50% submission rate.

Michelle Waterson-Gomez was the older woman by 8 years, at 39 years old.

Pinheiro had a height advantage of 1 inch over Waterson. Despite this, both fighters had a equal reach.

Waterson was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 17 more fights, and made her debut in 2007, 9 years and 7 months earlier than Pinheiro, whose first professional fight was in 2016. She had fought 45 more professional rounds, 76 to Pinheiro's 31.

Waterson-Gomez vs Pinheiro form

Michelle Waterson-Gomez had beaten 2 of her last 5 opponents.

In her last fight before this contest, she had lost to Amanda Lemos at UFC Fight Night: Ortega vs. Rodriguez on 16th July 2022 by submission in the 2nd round at UBS Arena, Long Island, New York, United States.

Previous to that, she had been beaten by Marina Rodriguez at UFC Vegas 26 on 8th May 2021 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Going into that contest, she had won against Angela Hill at UFC Vegas 10 on 12th September 2020 by split decision in their 5 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Before that, she had been defeated by Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC on ESPN+ 19 on 12th October 2019 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at Amalie Arena, Tampa.

She had beaten Karolina Kowalkiewicz at UFC on ESPN 2 on 30th March 2019 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia.

Activity check

Waterson's last 5 fights had come over a period of 6 years, 2 months and 8 days, meaning she had been fighting on average every 1 year, 2 months and 28 days. In those fights, she fought a total of 20 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 4 rounds on average.

Pinheiro's last 2 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 1 month and 6 days, meaning she had been fighting on average every 2 years and 19 days. In those fights, she fought a total of 4 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Waterson-Gomez vs Pinheiro?

Michelle Waterson-Gomez was a 13/10 (+130) underdog going into the contest, while Luana Pinheiro made her way into the ring at 8/13 (-160) with oddsmakers.