No one can be certain exactly how much
Felice
Herrig has left in the tank.
The well-traveled 37-year-old will return to the
Ultimate Fighting Championship stage for the first time in
nearly two years when she rematches
Karolina
Kowalkiewicz—the Pole defeated Herrig by split decision in
2018—in the featured
UFC Fight Night 207 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las
Vegas. Herrig finds herself in the midst of a career-worst
three-fight losing streak. She last competed at UFC 252, where she
submitted to an armbar from former
Invicta Fighting Championships titleholder
Virna
Jandiroba in the first round of their August 2020 pairing.
As Herrig makes final preparations for her second encounter with
Kowalkiewicz at 115 pounds, a look at some of the rivalries that
have played a role in charting her course:
Herrig made a successful organizational debut when she submitted
the United Training Center representative with a second-round
armbar as part of “The Ultimate Fighter 20” Finale undercard on
Dec. 12, 2014 at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. Ellis
conceded defeat 3:05 into Round 2. The two strawweights engaged in
a back-and-forth battle, on the feet and on the ground. Ellis was
on the verge of a submission of her own inside the first minute of
Round 1, where she threatened with a standing guillotine. Herrig
survived, touching off a series of scrambles and exchanges that
spilled into the second frame. There, Herrig reversed into top
position following an Ellis takedown, climbed briefly to full mount
and then settled on her opponent’s back. Ellis dodged the first
armbar attempt but not the second, as Herrig went belly down with
the technique and coaxed the tapout.
The
Team Alpha Male export broke down Herrig with a crushing pace
and cruised to a unanimous decision in their UFC on Fox 15 women’s
strawweight showcase on April 18, 2015 at the Prudential Center in
Newark, New Jersey. Scores were 30-27, 30-26 and 30-26. Herrig had
her moments early. She threatened VanZant with a succession of
opening-round submission attempts, first with a rear-naked choke,
then with a triangle choke and finally with an armbar. VanZant
escaped them all. Herrig’s gas tank failed her down the stretch, as
her exuberant counterpart put a hyperactive top game to optimum
use. The third round was not competitive. VanZant executed a
takedown inside the first minute and torched the Team Curran
mainstay with ground-and-pound. Her work netted her a 10-8 round on
two scorecards and provided her with an exclamation point on the
victory.
Herrig collected the most significant win of her career when she
claimed a unanimous decision over previously undefeated Lobo Gym
prospect in their UFC Fight Night 104 co-main event on Feb. 4, 2017
at the Toyota Center in Houston. The “Lil Bulldog” drew 29-28,
29-28 and 30-27 marks from the cageside judiciary. Grasso, who
entered the Octagon as close to a 3-to-1 favorite, was stuck in
neutral for much of the 15-minute confrontation. Herrig pressured
her with punches, often pairing left hooks to the body with
clubbing rights upstairs. Grasso was uncharacteristically
tentative, perhaps caught off-guard by the veteran’s aggression on
the feet. Herrig struck for a takedown in the third round and
briefly achieved full mount before getting back to work in the
standup. Grasso buckled the Buffalo Grove, Illinois, native with a
late flurry but did not do enough to author the finish she needed.
It remains the centerpiece of the Herrig resume.
Waterson shined in her role as a slight underdog against the
Jeff
Curran protégé and walked away from their featured UFC 229
attraction with a unanimous decision on Oct. 6, 2018 at T-Mobile
Arena in Las Vegas. Scores were 30-26, 29-28 and 30-27. Waterson
utilized an active kicking game, held her own in the clinch and
executed a beautiful throw in the second round, whereupon she spent
several minutes feeding her counterpart ground-and-pound from top
position. Even when she wound up pinned beneath Herrig in Round 3,
“The Karate Hottie” responded with savage slashing elbows from the
bottom and made certain the tide would not turn against her. By the
time the smoke cleared, Waterson had outlanded “The Ultimate
Fighter 20” quarterfinalist by a 131-70 margin.