The hour grows late for Michelle Waterson.
As Waterson and Lemos polish off their latest training camps, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:
36: Years of age for Waterson, who was born in Aurora, Colorado, on Jan. 6, 1986.
9: Waterson wins by submission, accounting for 50% of her career total (18). Her methods of choice: five armbars and four rear-naked chokes. Waterson holds three other wins by knockout or technical knockout (17%) and six more by decision (33%).
128: Significant strikes landed by Waterson in a five-round split decision over former Invicta Fighting Championships titleholder Angela Hill in the UFC Fight Night 177 headliner on Sept. 12, 2020. It established a high-water mark for the Greg Jackson protégé.
15: Seconds needed for Waterson to submit Rosary Califano with a flying armbar at an Extreme Beatdown show on Feb. 13, 2010. Having occurred more than 12 years ago, it remains her fastest finish to date.
98: Combined victories between the nine opponents—Rodriguez, Carla Esparza, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Tecia Torres, Rose Namajunas, Herica Tiburcio, Elena Reid, Lynn Alvarez and Alicia Gumm—who have defeated Waterson. They sport a .726 cumulative winning percentage (98-35-2).
35: Years of age for Lemos, who was born on May 22, 1987 in Belem, Brazil.
7: Lemos victories by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 64% of her career total (11). Her list of UFC victims: Montserrat Ruiz and Livinha Souza. Lemos owns two other victories by submission (18%) and two more by decision (18%).
8: First-round finishes on the Lemos resume, including one of the sub-minute variety. She buried Ruiz with punches in just 35 seconds at UFC on ESPN 26 a little more than a year ago.
5: Knockdowns landed by Lemos as a UFC women’s strawweight, placing her first on the promotion’s all-time list at 115 pounds. She ranks ahead of Namajunas (four), Hill (three), Weili Zhang (two), Silvana Gomez Juarez (two) and two others: Rodriguez (two) and Hannah Cifers (two).
.703: Cumulative winning percentage between the two opponents—Andrade and Leslie Smith—who have beaten Lemos. They boast a combined record of 45-18-1.