Team Pettis retained control of the fight picks tonight during Episode 2 of The Ultimate Fighter 20: “A Champion Will Be Crowned.” Scottish striker Joanne “JoJo” Calderwood picked up a Majority Decision victory over Team Melendez’s Emily Kagan in a bout more one-sided than scores suggest.

Calderwood, ranked at number two in this season’s all-female strawweight cast, showcased her superior striking against the #15-ranked Kagan in the opening round. She took Kagan down in round two and maintained a tight inverted triangle choke for over three minutes to secure the decision win.

Calderwood (8-0-0 pro) pressed the action with leg kicks in the opening minute and Kagan (3-1-0 pro) responded with kicks to the body. A combination scored for Calderwood and she continued to have success with her kicks. Kagan landed a nice left hook, but she ate a quick one-two for her efforts. She lunged in with more punches and Calderwood cracked her with a knee in a Thai clinch. Calderwood backed Kagan up with a hard knee to the body and a right hand that caused Kagan to bleed from the nose, and she landed more knees and leg kicks in the final minute.

Calderwood opened round two with more knees and she secured a takedown into side control. She dropped elbows from the top, then stood up and worked for a kimura as a kneeling Kagan tried to get back to her feet. Kagan stood with Calderwood over her shoulders in an inverted triangle choke position and she slammed her down to the ground. That allowed Calderwood to tighten the inverted triangle and she kept Kagan trapped in place. Kagan attempted to free herself by punching to the body, but she could not escape and Calderwood maintained the choke all the way until the bell.

One judge strangely scored the fight even at 19-19. The remaining two correctly sided with Calderwood and returned identical scores of 20-18, giving the Scottish standout a well-deserved Majority Decision win. The victory moved Calderwood on to the quarterfinal round and kept Team Pettis in control of the fight picks. Next week’s bout will feature a rematch between Team Pettis’s Jessica Penne and Team Melendez’s Lisa Ellis. Penne won the first fight by third-round TKO in a bloodbath at Invicta FC 1.

The Ultimate Fighter 20: “A Champion Will Be Crowned” airs every Wednesday night on FOX Sports 1 and Sportsnet 360. The winner of the gruelling competition will become the inaugural UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion.

(Photo Credit: Esther Lin, AllElbows.com / InvictaFC.com)