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Calderwood excited for ‘amazing’ fight on home soil

- SCOTT MULLEN

JOANNE CALDERWOOD can already feel the warmth of being among her own.

The Glasgow-based fighter will be huddled in her hotel room this morning contented by the thought of the 13,000 Scots that await her, calmed by the support they will provide.

Little more than a year-and-a-half on from being signed up by the Ultimate Fighting Championsh­ip – the world’s biggest mixed martial arts competitio­n – Calderwood will fly the flag for Scotland along with Robert Whiteford and Stevie Ray when she steps out at the SSE Hydro this evening. Known to her fans as JoJo, the 28-year-old faces Cortney Casey-Sanchez before headliners Michael Bisping and Thales Leites take to the octagon in UFC Fight Night 72, the first event of its kind to be held in the country.

It will be an emotional moment for the shy and modest Muay Thai champion, who has spent her profession­al career punching, kicking and snarling her way to notoriety and success across the United States.

Calderwood’s defeat to Maryna Moroz in April stands to date as her only defeat from 10 profession­al Mixed Martial Art fights.

Now faced with not only a fight on home soil but arguably the biggest MMA event ever hosted in Caledonia, Calderwood is nothing but soothed and motivated by the prospect.

“I’m very, very excited,” she told Herald Sport. “I wish I could have pressed a button to have made it get here quicker. There’s no nerves really, it’s just pure excitement. I’m trying to keep my adrenaline low, but it’s helping with keeping my weight down as I’ve hardly eaten a thing all week!

“The supporters got me through the camp and tonight is going to be amazing. I can’t describe what it is going to be like for me to have that support behind me. I didn’t think I’d ever be in the UFC. It wasn’t that long ago they didn’t even have any women in the promotions so to think that I’ll be fighting here is overwhelmi­ng.

“They have been talking about coming to Glasgow for years and years, the fans have been asking for it. They probably gave up hope and, to be honest, so did I.

“I’ll just be staying calm before tonight. I usually watch my fights before I go to the venue so I’ll get in the zone, stay calm until I get into the octagon then throw a maddy.”

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