A year is a very long time, but for Michelle Watterson, it must have felt like an eternity.Back at International Fight Week 2015, Waterson made her UFC debut against Angela Magana and notched up her first UFC win with an impressive performance that saw her win inside the distance via rear-naked choke.It was expected that from there, Waterson's star would rise in the UFC women's strawweight division but a series of injuries kept her on sidelines and out of action in what she has described previously as the most frustrating period of her career.Thankfully, Waterson now appears to be back to full health and eyeing a return to action."I'm fully recovered and I'm ready to go when the UFC want me back in there," Waterson said excitedly. "I'm thinking probably August or September is when I will have my next fight. At first it was my knee that blew out and then I broke my hand in the same spot that I did last July so I've had to be super careful on it."I had a good bunch of blood work just to see what was wrong with it and then I just made sure I rested up a lot to make that it was properly healing. I haven't had any crazy treatments but I have been taking more vitamin D and more calcium and also been having a little bit of ultrasound to really just get the density back up in my bones."Waterson then spoke in more detail about her desired date of return and one fight card in particular stood out to here in her mind. It just so happened to be the same fight card that her teammates Donald Cerrone and Carlos Condit would be fighting on in August."Ideally I just want to get back in but if you gave me the choice of being on one fight card in that timeframe I would say UFC 202," Waterson said. "That card sounds like so much fun. I've been doing things the right way and I've been training really hard and not rushed myself coming back. I feel strong now, I feel ready and I think UFC 202 would be an amazing card to be a part of."When it came to picking an opponent, Waterson wasn't keen on picking out a single name but was adamant in the fact that she would like to face a top ten fighter and wouldn't require any sort of 'warm up' fight to get herself back into the mix of the strawweight contenders."As far as opponents goes, I really don't care just anyone top ten would work for me," Waterson said. "I'm just focused on climbing up the ladder right now. I've zero interest in being someone that calls out particular fighters, that's just not me. All I want is a top ten opponent so I can get back amongst the best of the 115lbs fighters and make a run at the title later this year."At UFC Ottawa, two of Waterson's higher ranked strawweight competitors Valerie Letourneau and Joanne Calderwood did battle in the UFC's first ever women's flyweight bout. While Waterson agreed it was great to see both Letourneau and Calderwood fighting at a more comfortable weight, a 125lbs division for the minute wasn't of much interest for her."I think that Strawweight is more my weight right now," Waterson said without hesitation. "I'm originally going up from atomweight so for me, strawweight and 115-pounds is the ideal weight for me to be fighting at. I do however hope that they keep the flyweight division for women because it was not only healthier for those women to be fighting there but also because I think it will be a great division for the UFC."I personally think it's too much to ask someone who is finding a little hard to make 115 to go up to 135. That's why I think 125-pounds would be a great division to have and I think it would be a nice home for a lot of the girls."Of course, another talking point coming from that inaugural women's flyweight bout was the Reebok women's apparel which came under scrutiny following claims from Letourneau that it hampered her during the fight. Waterson experienced no apparel problems whatsoever in her UFC debut."I had no problems for my first fight but I also fought in a rashguard type top," Waterson said. "I've always fought in that sort of thing and I've always found that it makes it a lot easier on myself because I don't have all the worries and all the other distraction they may come with some of the other tops. I don't really know what happened with Valerie; I just don't know."Having spent such a frustrating period on the sidelines, Waterson's message to her fans was clear; she was ready to return to action and the rest of the UFC strawweight division better watch out."Believe me, I'm coming and don't count me out," Waterson said with a genuine sense of determination in her voice. "I know I've been out for a long time but I've by no means been slacking. I've been training and working harder than ever before. Don't think because I've been injured I've not been working; just don't count me out."Exclusive to FloCombat next week, Michelle will breakdown all the top women's fights during UFC International Fight Week 2016.