Cynthia Calvillo enhanced her credentials in the women’s flyweight division after an impressive decision win over Jessica Eye at UFC Fight Night Saskatoon.
The Mexican, making her first appearance at 125 lbs, was a comfortable winner on the scorecards against her number-one ranked opponent.
Moving to 9-1-1 (6-1-1 in the UFC), some have already clamoured for her to be next in line for current champ Valentina Shevchenko.
As in previous fights, Calvillo once again showed her prowess on the ground, felling Eye across the course of the fight – often late on as a real exclamation point in rounds.
She looked at home at 125 lbs, have struggled previously to make weight at 115 lbs, and with her 2019 team change seemingly now taking full effect.
23-fight veteran Eye arguably picked up the first round, but struggled to build any kind of momentum on the feet, and was in defence-mode when on the ground.
Despite another impressive win, at this stage it would feel more like feeding Calvillo to The Bullet rather than conceivably seeing dethroning her, but there is certainly the potential for them to clash in the not too distant future.
It was interesting to see Katlyn Chookagian immediately jumping on Twitter to put her hand up to be next in line to face Calvillo.
It is a fight that makes a lot of sense. Chookagian has failed in an attempt to wrestle the gold from Shevchenko, but a win over the champ’s sister, Antonia, last time out certainly keeps her relevant – and a genuine challenge for Calvillo at the top end of the flyweight division.
This would leave Joanne Calderwood in her rightful place at the front of the line to take on Shevchenko for the gold.
An interesting couple of months lie ahead.
