Women’s MMA Report: Calderwood wins homecoming, Holm improves to 9-0

Scottish star Joanne Calderwood rebounded from the first loss of her career with a thrilling victory in front of her hometown fans this past Saturday at “UFC Fight Night 72: Bisping vs. Leites” in Glasgow, Glasgow.

Calderwood survived a rough opening minute of the fight and walked away with a well-deserved unanimous-decision win over late replacement Cortney Casey, who took the fight on just 10 days’ notice.

Calderwood (10-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) was originally slated to face “The Ultimate Fighter 20” competitor Bec Rawlings, but the bout was scrapped for a second time when Rawlings suffered a training injury. The rivals were first set to meet at Invicta FC 4 in early 2013, but an injury to Claudia Gadelha propelled Rawlings into the night’s main event.

Saturday’s fight nearly came to an end in the opening seconds when Casey (4-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) rocked Calderwood with a big flurry of punches that backed her up against the cage. Casey attempted a flying armbar, but Calderwood escaped and she spent most of the round on top and in her opponent’s guard. Casey remained very active from her back and attacked with elbows, armbars and a heel-hook attempt.

Calderwood began to take control of the fight in Round 2, and she mixed up things with punch-kick combinations and key takedowns. Casey slowed down, and Calderwood dropped her early in Round 3 with a spinning back kick to the liver. Casey recovered and tried for a kneebar late in the fight, but Calderwood finished strong with ground and pound.

Scores were 29-28 and 30-27 (twice) for an elated Calderwood, who got back on track with the victory after suffering a shocking upset loss to Maryna Moroz in April. The entertaining bout between Calderwood and Casey earned “Fight of the Night” honors.

Holm, Andrade victorious at UFC Fight Night 71

Holly Holm

Former world boxing champion Holly Holm (9-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) kept her perfect MMA record intact with a clear-cut unanimous-decision win on July 15 at “UFC Fight Night 71: Mir vs. Duffee” in San Diego. Holm outstruck rising star Marion Reneau (6-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) en route to a one-sided decision victory.

Holm kept Reneau guessing throughout the fight by landing quick combinations of punches and kicks to the head and body. Reneau eventually resorted to jumping guard, but Holm slammed her down and kept the fight on the feet. She landed a series of side kicks in the final round and fought off a triangle choke when Reneau finally dragged her down to the mat.

In the dying seconds, Holm hurt her opponent with a flurry of punches and a body kick, but Reneau stayed on her feet and made it to the bell.

While Holm appeared to have clearly won each round by a 10-9 margin, two judges disagreed and returned questionable scores of 30-26 and 29-28. A third correctly saw it 30-27. All three had it for Holm, who took another step toward title contention with the win.

Earlier on the UFC Fight Night 71 card, Brazilian standout Jessica Andrade (13-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) returned to her winning ways with a commanding unanimous-decision victory over “TUF 18” contestant Sarah Moras (4-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC).

Andrade had her three-fight winning streak snapped by Reneau in February and was reportedly told that she would be cut from the UFC if she lost to Moras. Fortunately for Andrade, she thwarted Moras’ takedowns and submission attempts, and she dominated the action with ground and pound. Both women attempted guillotine chokes later in the fight, and Andrade scored with more punches and elbows from top position. Moras’ best success came in the final seconds when she locked on a standing rear-naked choke, but Andrade held on.

All three judges scored the fight 30-27 for Andrade, who remains a tough test at 135 pounds.

Waterson wins UFC debut at TUF 21 Finale

Michelle Waterson

Former Invicta FC atomweight champion Michelle Waterson (13-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC) moved back up to 115 pounds for the first time since 2010 and won her much-anticipated UFC debut on July 12 at The Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale in Las Vegas.

Waterson, who excelled as an atomweight for Invicta FC, picked up her most notable strawweight victory to date by submitting outspoken “TUF 20” fighter Angela Magana (11-8 MMA, 0-2 UFC) with a third-round rear-naked choke.

Magana nearly spoiled Waterson’s UFC debut by trapping the highly touted karate practitioner in a tight armbar early in Round 1. Waterson refused to submit and eventually escaped. The round ended with Waterson attempting an armbar of her own. She kept Magana on the defensive with kicks in Round 2 until Magana caught one and took her down. Waterson was active on the mat and threatened with two more armbars before the bell.

The final round was all Waterson, and she dropped Magana with a head kick early on. Magana recovered and stood up, but Waterson suplexed her back down and flattened her out on the mat. She locked on a rear-naked choke, and Magana tapped out at the 2:38 mark of Round 3.

Waterson’s victory established her as a potential contender in the talent-rich UFC women’s strawweight division, but she still has a ways to go before she reaches title-challenger status. A potential rematch with Jessica Penne, whom Waterson submitted for the Invicta FC atomweight belt in April 2013, could be an intriguing fight in the future.

‘Cyborg’ retains title, two new champs crowned at Invicta FC 13

Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino

One of MMA’s most feared fighters, Cristiane Justino, retained her Invicta FC featherweight title with a quick and violent TKO victory on July 9 at Invicta FC 13 in Las Vegas. The hard-hitting “Cyborg” dispatched challenger Faith Van Duin in just 45 seconds.

Justino (14-1) immediately attacked with punches that backed Van Duin (5-2) up against the cage. “Cyborg” gave her no time to recover and teed off with more punches and a knee to the body that dropped Van Duin to the mat. Justino sensed that the end was near and blasted Van Duin with a final barrage of punches until the brief bout was waved off.

Following the fight, Justino once again campaigned for a fight with UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey. While Justino has been calling out Rousey for years, her message to the UFC champion is never consistent. Justino’s challenges were first for a fight at 145 pounds, then at a 140-pound catchweight, and later, she stated that she would try to cut down to 135 to make the bantamweight limit. Now, Justino has diverted back to calling out Rousey for fights at or heavier than 140 pounds, and has seemingly given up on the idea of making 135 for good.

In other championship action at Invicta FC 13, veteran wrestler Tonya Evinger (17-5) capped off her career resurgence with one of her best performances to date en route to capturing the vacant Invicta FC bantamweight championship. Evinger completely dominated Mexican striker Irene Aldana (5-2) on the mat and ultimately finished her with fourth-round strikes.

Evinger mounted Aldana in Round 1 and secured a deep armbar from the top that had her in all sorts of trouble. She eventually escaped, but Evinger stayed active with submission attempts and ground and pound. It was more of the same in Rounds 2 and 3, and Evinger remained in complete control of the fight. She landed numerous elbows from top position, and Aldana’s right eye began to swell up.

In Round 4, Evinger secured a takedown into back control and she used an arm-triangle choke to transition to mount. From there, she rained down punches until the fight was waved off at the 4:38 mark of the fourth round. Evinger has now won seven straight fights.

Elsewhere at Invicta FC 13, former Jewels champion Ayaka Hamasaki (12-1) made history by becoming the first Japanese female fighter to win a major international MMA title. Hamasaki edged out Herica Tiburcio (9-3) to claim the Invicta FC atomweight championship.

Hamasaki started strong with crisp boxing in Round 1, but Tiburcio hurt her with a body kick and jumped into a guillotine choke that nearly finished the fight. Hamasaki rallied in Round 2 with a key takedown and ground and pound, but Tiburcio kept the fight close with submission attempts in Round 3. The fourth and fifth rounds were marred by a series of ridiculous standups from controversial referee Kim Winslow, who repeatedly robbed Hamasaki of top position by bringing the fight back to the feet. In spite of Winslow’s interference, Hamasaki mounted Tiburcio in Round 4 and threatened with a keylock late in Round 5.

The close bout went to the scorecards and judge Lester Griffin had it 48-47 for Tiburcio. Judges Glenn Trowbridge and Adalaide Byrd had it 49-46 and 48-47, respectively, for Hamasaki, who took the split-decision win and became the fourth Invicta FC atomweight champion.

Kianzad stays unbeaten, prospects shine on Invicta FC 13 prelims

Pannie Kianzad

Cage Warriors women’s bantamweight champion Pannie Kianzad (8-0) made a successful Invicta FC debut with a well-deserved unanimous-decision victory on the Invicta FC 13 preliminary card. Kianzad scored takedowns and outstruck Jessica-Rose Clark (5-2) for three rounds en route to a solid win on the scorecards.

Kianzad put together combinations on the feet in Round 1 and finished the round with ground and pound after taking down Clark. She scored another takedown in Round 2 that led to an inverted triangle-keylock attempt, but Clark escaped and countered with an armbar. Kianzad kept the fight on the feet in Round 3 and landed punches and two knees to the body that hurt Clark before the bell. Scores were 30-27 thrice for Kianzad, who stayed perfect.

Atomweight contender Amber Brown (5-1) put an emphatic end to the hype surrounding Irish prospect Catherine Costigan (5-1) by destroying her in one of the most dominant performances on the card. Brown mounted Costigan early in the fight and rained down punches and elbows from the top that led to a rarely-seen Ezekiel-choke attempt. Costigan escaped, but Brown transitioned to an arm-triangle choke and landed more punches that forced Costigan to give up her back. Brown then locked on a rear-naked choke, and Costigan tapped out at the 3:34 mark of the opening round.

Top strawweight prospect Jamie Moyle (3-0) took another step up the 115-pound rankings with a hard-fought split-decision victory over Amy Cadwell Montenegro (6-2). Moyle controlled Round 1 with rear-naked chokes and armbar attempts on the mat, and she outstruck Montenegro on the feet with punch-kick combos in the middle stanza. Montenegro rallied in the final round and scored with knees to the body and short punches in the clinch. Judge Tony Weeks oddly scored the fight 29-28 for Montenegro, but he was overruled by judges Patricia Morse Jarman and Junichiro Kamijo, who both had it 29-28 for Moyle.

Opening up the Invicta FC 13 card, Amber Leibrock (1-0) kicked off her pro career with a vicious knockout win over Marina Shafir (1-2), who has now suffered 37-second knockout losses in back-to-back fights. Leibrock dropped Shafir with two right hooks in the opening seconds of the fight and a dazed Shafir tried to counter with a heel hook. Leibrock grabbed the cage and dropped a series of brutal right hands that left Shafir unconscious, and the bout was waved off.

MMAjunkie.com publishes the Women’s MMA Report every few weeks. Its author, Robert Sargent, is a veteran MMA journalist who also runs MMARising.com. Feel free to email us at news [AT] mmajunkie.com with any questions, news tips or suggestions.