The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s upcoming trip to Philadelphia has its first bout, as Michelle Waterson will square off against Karolina Kowalkiewicz at UFC on ESPN 2 on March 30.
UFC President Dana White confirmed the strawweight pairing to ESPN on Tuesday. UFC on ESPN 2 takes place at the Wells Fargo Center in “The City of Brotherly Love” and will air on one of the ESPN television networks.
Waterson is coming off a 2-0 campaign in 2018 in which she earned decision victories over Felice Herrig and Cortney Casey-Sanchez. The 33-year-old Jackson-Wink MMA product is 4-2 in the UFC and 16-6 as a professional overall.
A former 115-pound title challenger, Kowalkiewicz had a two-bout winning streak snapped in her most recent outing, when she suffered a first-round knockout loss to Jessica Andrade at UFC 228. The Polish standout is 5-3 in the Octagon, a record that includes a notable victory against current champion Rose Namajunas.