An injury has forced Joanne “JoJo” Calderwood out of her main event bout at UFC Fight Night 80 on December 10th in Las Vegas, Nevada. In her place, TUF 20 finalist “Thug” Rose Namajunas has now stepped in to face popular rising star “12 Gauge” Paige VanZant in the strawweight headliner.
UFC officials announced the updated bout earlier today. Specific details of Calderwood’s injury were not disclosed. Namajunas most recently earned her first official UFC victory earlier this month at UFC 192. VanZant, one of the UFC’s top stars, has earned three straight victories inside the Octagon.
Namajunas (3-2-0) advanced to the championship finals of The Ultimate Fighter 20 this past year by submitting Alex “Astro Girl” Chambers, Calderwood and Randa “Quiet Storm” Markos during the gruelling competition. The impressive victories elevated Namajunas from a prospect to a top contender in the UFC’s newly-created women’s strawweight division. She was defeated by Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza in the inaugural UFC women’s strawweight title fight, but notched her first official UFC win by easily submitting Angela “Overkill” Hill in a brief bout at UFC 192.
VanZant (6-1-0) has rapidly developed into one of the most popular fighters on the UFC roster. The 21-year-old debuted in November and scored a thrilling third-round TKO victory over Kailin Curran at UFC Fight Night 57. She returned to action in April and scored her biggest win to date by dominating veteran Felice “Lil’ Bulldog” Herrig in a main card bout at UFC on FOX 15. She then made her UFC pay-per-view debut in early September when she submitted an overmatched Chambers in a lopsided fight at UFC 191. VanZant now looks to enter title contention with another big victory in December.
UFC Fight Night 80: “Namajunas vs VanZant” takes place on December 10th at The Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, Nevada. The bout between Namajunas and VanZant is expected to be contested over five rounds.
(Photo Credit: UFC)