Michelle Waterson-Gomez In Jiu Jitsu Gear Celebrates Black Belt

Former UFC fighter Michelle Waterson-Gomez is celebrating a major milestone in her career: getting her black belt in Jiu Jitsu after years of training. Waterson-Gomez, 38, shared a video of herself wearing a black gi, looking overwhelmed with emotion as the belt was tied around her waist. "Thank you to my family for supporting me. Thank you to my friends and teammates for making me resilient and keeping me hungry. I know getting my black belt is just the beginning and I can't wait to see what the future holds!!! Let's go!!!" she captioned the post. Here's how the fighter stays strong and fit enough to crush goal after goal.

Waterson-Gomez fell in love with Muay Thai after a trip to Thailand in college. "I got the opportunity to be a ring girl, and it was something fun to do and make some extra cash," she told ESPN. "I remember watching these MMA fights and saying, 'Hey, I think I'd rather be inside the Octagon than out.' One of the fighters — he's a really big name now in UFC, Donald Cerrone — overheard me and came to my work because they needed another girl for a fight. He left a note for me that said, 'If you're serious about training, get your butt in the gym.' I haven't looked back since."

Waterson-Gomez gains strength from accepting weakness. "Accepting your vulnerability is an important part of being able to move past adversity," she told REORG. "You get strength from realizing you can carry on whatever bad stuff is thrown at you. The strongest people I know are not like that because they don't have any weaknesses, they are like that because they accept how they are and just keep trucking forward."

Waterson-Gomez knows how important sleep and recovery is. "Don't forget to rest," she told AskMen. "Sleep and rest days are super important to recovery so don't neglect those days by trying to overdo it on workouts. Recovery allows your body to repair and become stronger."

Waterson-Gomez is grateful for her team. "It is also good to accept the importance of a supportive community around us," she told REORG. "I've been at Jackson Wink since the start of my career and it is like a second family. It's a sanctuary for me, whenever I'm having a bad day and don't want to talk to anyone, I can just go and hang out and train and be around cool people that have my back."

Waterson-Gomez's daughter Araya has never missed a fight. "Sometimes people raise their eyebrows when they find out that my daughter comes to see me fight," she told REORG. "She is 11 now and has been along for the ride even before she knew about it. My first fight back after she was born I was still breastfeeding, so she needed her mom nearby. And ever since then, apart from Covid, she's been to every fight."