Controversial pundit Joe Brolly loves to get a rise out of people, and that’s exactly what he achieved with his scathing article about MMA.
The Sunday Game analyst was writing in response to Conor McGregor’s return at UFC 229 where he criticised mixed-martial-arts as a throwback to ‘slave-fighting’, whilst comparing McGregor to a ‘prostitute’.
Brolly broke down UFC 229 and some of the competing athletes came in for criticism, not least the two female fighters on the card, Michelle Waterson and Felice Herrig.
Writing in his Sunday Independent column Brolly said;
” Two women tried to kill each other. The Karate Hottie (real name Michelle Waterson), who has done naked photo shoots and boasted in a pre-fight interview, “I’ve beaten up some of my opponents so badly, they have actually shat themselves during the fight”, was matched with Felice Herrig, a seriously dangerous looking white woman.”
Brolly’s comment about Waterson doing naked photo shoots can easily be misconstrued the wrong way.
When in truth, Waterson posed for ESPN’s body issue magazine in 2017. An annual photo shoot that has featured hundred’s of athletes including; Serena Williams, Manny Pacquiao, Conor McGregor, Hope Solo, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Waterson, who proclaimed after her win over Felice Herrig that she wanted to become ‘the first mom to win UFC gold’, responded to the Derry man’s criticism.
It's easy to cast judgment on others when you've never walked a day in their shoes. Martial arts is a way of life in which you learn through experience, most likely something @JoeBrolly1993 would know nothing about.
— Michelle Waterson (@karatehottiemma) October 16, 2018
With regards to the Albuquerque based fighter ‘boasting’ about making people defecate themselves, you can check the interview out here and decide for yourself.
