In Joanne Calderwood’s case, she knew she had the ability and the work ethic, but things weren’t clicking. A 3-3 start in the UFC prompted her to move to Las Vegas and start training at Syndicate MMA and the UFC Performance Institute.
Add in a permanent move up to flyweight, and “JoJo 2.0” was born. Two fights and two wins later, Calderwood finds herself with a prime opportunity to vault herself into the title-shot conversation if she gets by Katlyn Chookagin at UFC 238.
Looks like she chose right.
“I feel like I’m in the right journey,” Calderwood told UFC.com. “When the title shot comes, then it comes, and I’ll be ready.”
Calderwood’s performances against Kalindra Faria and Ariane Lipski displayed her growth in the grappling department, even securing her first submission win against Faria. Chookagin is known as more of a standup fighter, but Calderwood hasn’t been all too impressed with her last couple of fights, including a split decision loss to flyweight title challenger Jessica Eye.
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“Her last two fights, you can see the first two rounds, she runs away,” Calderwood said. “She’s on the back foot, and she just wants to counter, and she’s more of a points scorer. We have noticed that, and yeah, we’re preparing for everything. I’m even preparing for her to come touch gloves and try and take me down. We’ve covered all areas, and we’re expecting everything. I’m just going to go in there and react.”
The 32-year-old said she doesn’t want to get caught up in “chasing her and getting countered” but rather coming out aggressive and turning out a “violent fight that people want to see.”
This fight feels like the concluding section of this chapter of Calderwood’s career. Her move to Vegas brought her confidence and success, and it’s inched her closer to a belt – something that might’ve felt much further away than a 3-fight winning streak. Regardless, that’s the position she is in heading into UFC 238.
“When I look back since coming to Vegas just over a year ago, I’m so proud of myself,” she said. “I’m not really shocked because I know I’ve always had the potential.”
