Joanne Calderwood is typically known as a slow starting fighter, but she came ready to go on Saturday when she faced Valerie Letourneau in the inaugural fight in the women’s flyweight division.
“JoJo,” a multiple-time Muay Thai champion, utilized her diverse striking game to put Letourneau in trouble early in the fight. She landed a spinning back fist that dropped the Canadian midway through the opening round. Letourneau, known for his toughness, survived.
In the second frame, Calderwood continued to mix up her attack. She worked kicks and boxing while on the outside, landed elbows from the clinch, and secured takedowns. She was able to put Letourneau on her back all three times that she attempt to.
In the final round, Calderwood hurt Letourneau a couple of times with kicks to the body. He pressured Letourneau and hurt her again with a front kick to the midsection. Letourneau turned her back to her opponent, and Calderwood chased her and landed a knee followed by a right hand. A spinning back fist knocked Letourneau down and the referee stepped in to stop the action.
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“I came out here and let stuff go, and I wasn’t thinking about it,” said Calderwood following the fight. “I thought I stopped her like twice or so. I knew she was going to be tough. I was ready to go fifteen minutes with her.”
Calderwood was uncertain about what weight class she’ll be competing in moving forward.
“I’m probably going to go back down to strawweight,” she said. “I’ll see what the UFC wants.”
The TKO victory was Calderwood’s second consecutive win, and her first fight in eleven months.
