When the UFC announced it would be adding a new women’s flyweight division to its ranks this summer, the thoughts of many turned quickly to Joanne Calderwood.
“Dr. Kneevil” is one of the women who has been most vocal about the need for a 125-pound female weight class over recent years. She is also the only active woman on the UFC’s roster to have actually fought a 125-pound contest inside the Octagon, having done so in a special one-off against now-Bellator fighter Valerie Letourneau last June.
But just days after plans for the new women’s division were made official, the UFC announced a strawweight tilt between Calderwood and undefeated 115-pound prospect Cynthia Calvillo for July 16 at UFC Fight Night 113 in Glasgow, Scotland.