Joanne Calderwood, Randa Markos Victorious At UFC Fight Night 89Following an 11-month hiatus from competition, Joanne “JoJo” Calderwood made a triumphant return to the Octagon tonight at UFC Fight Night 89: “MacDonald vs Thompson.” Calderwood stopped former strawweight title challenger Valérie “Trouble” Létourneau in round three of a flyweight bout.

Tonight’s performance was arguably the best of Calderwood’s career. She floored Létourneau with a spinning back elbow in round one and finished her with a kick to the body in the final round. Earlier tonight, Randa “Quiet Storm” Markos earned a key win over Jocelyn “Lights Out” Jones-Lybarger.

 

Calderwood (11-1-0) took Létourneau (8-5-0) down early in their main card matchup, but Létourneau was active from her back and she countered with an armbar. Calderwood struck from the top until the fight returned to the feet. After an exchange of punches, she sent a barely-conscious Létourneau careening to the canvas with a devastating spinning back elbow. Calderwood missed the mark with almost all of her follow-up punches on the ground, however, which gave Létourneau time to recover and she battled back to her feet late in the round.

Létourneau got off to a strong start in the second stanza by bloodying Calderwood’s nose with a combination. Calderwood landed body kicks and took Létourneau down into half-guard. She punched from the top until Létourneau scrambled up, but Calderwood caught a kick and immediately put her on the mat again. Létourneau stood and Calderwood landed a spinning back kick before the bell.

Calderwood began to throw jumping switch kicks in the final round and she hurt Létourneau with one to the body. Létourneau winced in pain, but she survived a barrage of punches from Calderwood, who landed more kicks. The fight appeared to be over at one point, but continued on and Calderwood hurt Létourneau with another jumping switch kick to the ribs. Létourneau turned away and ate a right hand and a spinning backfist before the fight was finally waved off far too late.

Following her win, Calderwood stated that she plans to move back down to the strawweight division. She has won three of her four UFC fights and appears to have put the struggles of 2015 behind her.

Winner: Joanne Calderwood by TKO (Kick To The Body) at 2:51 of round three. She improves to 11-1-0.

 

Markos (6-3-0) was aggressive right from the opening bell, and she landed combinations of punches and leg kicks. In the clinch, she punished Jones-Lybarger (6-3-0) with a series of short uppercuts. The fighters traded strikes in close until Jones-Lybarger secured a takedown, but Markos countered with a heel hook and she kept Jones Lybarger’s leg trapped while punching her in the face until the bell.

Jones-Lybarger stuffed a takedown following an exchange of punches in round two. Markos maintained a boxing-centred striking game while Jones-Lybarger mixed things up with kicks. She sprawled out of another takedown attempt and the fighters traded heavy punches. Markos finished the close round with stiff jabs and a quick flurry.

The final round began with Jones-Lybarger landing a solid four-punch combination. Markos countered by taking her back and dragging her down to the mat, but Jones-Lybarger swiftly returned to her feet. Markos backed her up with a lunging flurry and tried unsuccessfully for another takedown later in the round. She kept Jones-Lybarger on the defensive with jabs and a spinning backfist.

Scores were 30-27 and 29-28 twice for Markos, who got back on track after dropping a decision to unbeaten contender Karolina Kowalkiewicz in December.

Winner: Randa Markos by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. She improves to 6-3-0.

 

 

(Photo Credit: UFC)