Joanne Calderwood Looking To Jump Into Title Contention Against “The Violence Queen”

Joanne Calderwood knows that an impressive performance at UFC on ESPN+ 1 could skyrocket her future title hopes.

Calderwood has seemingly found a home in Las Vegas after moving there one year ago. The Scottish flyweight initially moved from the U.K. to Montreal to train at the famed TriStar gym but has called Syndicate MMA home the last 12 months.

“I wanted to make some changes,” Calderwood told ESPN. “I’ve always had to train with other guys throughout my career. They would be smaller and closer to my weight. But I thought they were a lot stronger and better than me. So that messed with my confidence a lot.

“At least now, with girls who move differently you can’t have that excuse and I knew Syndicate had a good few girls there. I was also looking for a MMA coach. And not three or four different coaches. I wanted to have one person telling me exactly everything I had to do in all areas.”

A Different Ballgame In UFC

Calderwood will welcome Ariane Lipski to the UFC. As a former KSW champion, “The Violence Queen,” as she is known, boasts an impressive resume with most of her victories coming via stoppage. Despite her record, Calderwood believes that Octagon jitters are a very real thing that the UFC newcomer won’t know how to handle.

Furthermore, Calderwood has a violent plan in store for “The Violence Queen.”

“She’s got a lot of experience and she’s been fighting for a long time. Her entire career she’s been on big shows,” Calderwood said. “I just feel like she’s going to have pressure, I don’t know what it’s like at KSW, but with the media at the UFC, it is a completely different show.

“I don’t care what anyone says when you’re fighting, you get jitters, It doesn’t matter where it is, even I will on the night. She’s going to have that to deal with as well. I’ve watched a lot of her fights and I’ve visualized the victory by putting my hand right through her face.”

If “JoJo” does get her hand raised against Lipski, it would be her second straight victory since joining the flyweight division. Even still, Calderwood knows that an impressive win could land her a title shot against the newly crowned 125-pound queen Valentina Shevchenko.

“That’s just how the UFC works,” she said. “You can go out there and get a first-round stoppage. Exciting performances, that’s what they want to see and obviously so do the fans.

“If I can go in there and make a statement, there’s no reason why I can’t jump Jessica Eye. Or maybe even be looking to fight her next.”