Michelle Waterson's grueling war with Angela Hill was one of the best women's fights all year

• Michelle Waterson and Angela Hill fought a brutal war in the main event of a UFC show Saturday.
• The two fighters combined to throw 639 strikes in a bout that showed much of what makes mixed martial arts great.
• Despite sporting substantial facial injuries, more than Hill, Waterson was the worthy winner.
• Watch a highlight of the back-and-forth battle below.

Michelle Waterson was cut, bruised, and had a huge swelling on her head after winning one of the best women's fights all year.

The American striker Waterson fought Muay Thai athlete Angela Hill at the UFC Fight Night event in Las Vegas on Saturday, and the pair combined to throw 639 strikes in a bloody and brilliant 25-minute war.

The bout was so thrilling it captivated the attention of the UFC's top competitors on Twitter, and earned them both a $50,000 bonus as the UFC regarded it as the "Fight of the Night."

Hill began the fight in commanding fashion thanks to punch flurries and an overhand right consistently pinpointed onto Waterson's face and one rattled her jaw in the second round.

This fight was originally only scheduled to last three rounds, but because of a coronavirus-enforced cancelation to the Thiago Santos and Glover Teixeira match, after Teixeira tested positive for COVID-19, Waterson and Hill agreed to fight for five rounds and move into the main event slot.

Strategically, this favored Waterson, who stole the momentum in the latter stages of the fight.

Strike statistics indicated higher activity levels from Waterson, who finished the fifth round landing 37 of her 97 blows, though Hill's appeared more damaging.

Watch a highlight of their back-and-forth battle here:

The quality of their performance wowed their peers.

Hill said post-fight that she was disappointed by the outcome.

Here are the official scorecards:

Waterson, who advanced her record to 18 wins (three knockouts, nine submissions, and six decisions) against eight losses, wants to use the victory as a springboard to even bigger things.

"I'd like to get to the top as fast as possible," she said. "I've been chomping away for a really long time."

• Read more:
• An American finished a fight 7 seconds into the 3rd round with a textbook punch, making his opponent face-plant the floor
• Conor McGregor's manager said he's irate at 'those seeking to score a headline or a payday' regarding the fighter's latest arrest
• Conor McGregor got drug-tested while he was sailing on his yacht in the Mediterranean, meaning he's not officially retired
• Dana White signed a raw MMA novice because he reminded him of a young Mike Tyson and 'scared the s---' out of the UFC boss
• Khabib Nurmagomedov says Conor McGregor offers nothing as a competitor, and is no longer interested in a rematch