2. Heartbreak for Joanne Calderwood
[autotag]Joanne Calderwood[/autotag] deserved credit for taking a short-notice fight with Jennifer Maia when she already had a title fight seemingly locked up. Given her first-round submission loss, though, the decision feels terrible in hindsight.
Calderwood appeared to be well aware of the risks of her choice. She gave an honest take of her motivation pre-fight, claiming she didn’t want to be inactive for more than a year before challenging Valentina Shevchenko and she was simply itching to fight. All of that is fair, and if she’d won, a matchup with the champion would’ve been bigger. But now she’s in a rough spot.
Looking at the bright side, UFC president Dana White offered nothing but praise for Calderwood both before and after her loss. Her relationship with the UFC brass appears solid from the outside looking in, and that could mean a shorter road back her previous position.
As history shows, though, there are no guarantees. Calderwood’s road to a potential title fight was turbulent, but in reality, she was only on a one-fight winning streak and just happened to be the best option available for Shevchenko. With the 125-pound division growinging by the day, it’s going to be a challenge to secure that spot again. Her fate is in her own hands, though, and winning going forward will solve everything.
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