Amy Cadwell is Taking Her Lumps and Earning Her Stripes as an Undefeated Pro

After a solid amateur career, Northwest women’s 115-pound fighter Amy Cadwell turned pro last year with good results.

Three wins in three pro fights has her off to a great start, but a perfect beginning to her career didn’t come easy for Cadwell.

“I felt like my performance (against Cheryl Chan in my first pro fight) was not my best and I’m not completely satisfied with it, but who is really satisfied with their performances,” said Cadwell. “It was good to get that win and get that loss (from the amateurs) back.

“(My second pro fight against Hadley Griffith) was back and forth and I was almost finished in the second round. I was going out when the bell rang. I had to wake back up and finish the fight. So I went out in the third round and was able to take her down and finish her with a rear naked choke.”

After a somewhat rocky start, Cadwell put things together in her most recent win against Jessica Doerner in December.

“I was able to get a quick takedown, hit her with elbows and got the rear naked choke,” Cadwell told MMAWeekly.com. “My last performance was probably my best to date.”

Since her win in December over Doerner, Cadwell has been training non-stop for a possible shot at The Ultimate Fighter women’s 115-pound season, as well as possible fights. Because of all the training, she feels she’ll be a much better fighter when she returns to action this month.

“I’ve been in fight camp since my last fight almost,” said Cadwell. “I’ve been training pretty hard this whole time, so I feel like this next fight I’ll be a completely new fighter.”

When Cadwell (3-0) returns on July 19 for CageSport at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Wash., she’ll be facing fellow up-and-comer Katie Howard (2-1) in a 115-pound showdown.

“She’s very tough and well-rounded,” said Cadwell of Howard. “She’ll stand or go to the ground.

“She’s one of those girls who will fight anybody, anytime, anywhere. I think it’s a tough fight, but a good fight for me. As long as I stay relaxed and be myself and dictate my fight, I’ll win.”

A win over Howard could go a long way towards placing Cadwell on the next rung up the ladder towards her goal of one day fighting on the biggest stages of women’s MMA.

“If I win this fight, I’ll be 4-0, and I’m hoping Invicta will pick me up,” she said. “A lot of the girls who have been in Invicta have gone into the UFC.

“There’s no guarantee they’ll pick me up after this fight, but I’ll do everything in my power to make sure I’ll be ready for that when it comes.”