There’s no way to know for sure what the UFC would have done this weekend if Michelle Waterson wasn’t available.
Saturday’s card, which was without an official headliner as recently as early Monday, features a number of notable UFC veterans including longtime fan favorite Donald Cerrone, welterweight contenders Neil Magny and Geoff Neal, and the always game Angela Hill. But officials appeared intent to place have Waterson be one half of the main event and it was unclear if they had a Plan B.
Fortunately for everyone involved, all the contracts and paperwork were sorted, setting the stage for Waterson and Marina Rodriguez—a pair of strawweight contenders—to take a short-notice bout at 125 pounds and make Dana White’s life a lot easier.