Michelle Waterson stunned the Sacramento crowd on Saturday night when she choked out hometown girl Paige VanZant in the very first round.

With a loss, VanZant collected a $43,000 paycheck. If Waterson had lost the fight, she would have only received her $15,000 “show” money. She took home a total of $80,000, after receiving a win bonus ($15,000) and a performance of the night bonus ($50,000.)

Waterson spoke on The MMA Hour Monday, telling host Ariel Helwani that she wasn’t pleased with her pay. “It was a little embarassing,” said Waterson about her $30,000 fight purse. She added that she could train much harder if she had sponsors which is something that isn’t allowed under the current UFC and Reebok agreement.

Ariel Helwani agreed with ‘The Karate Hottie’ telling her “You deserve a hell of a lot more than that.”

Reebok does pay the fighters they sponsor too, but it’s based on how many fights a person has had inside the octagon. Fighters who have one to five fights inside the octagon are only eligible to make $2,500 per fight on the current pay scale.

Waterson didn’t call out anyone inside of the cage, but she did list “Thug” Rose Namajunas, Carla Esparza, Jessica Andrade, and Strawweight Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk as potential opponents. She announced that she will attempt to return to the cage 8-10 weeks after the holidays.

Does “The Karate Hottie” deserve more money? Let us know in the comments below.

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