By 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 over 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. Now faced with not only a fight on home soil but arguably the biggest Mixed Martial Art event ever hosted in Caledonia, Calderwood is nothing but soothed and motivated by the prospect.
“I’m very, very excited. It’s been a long wait for today,” she told HeraldSport. “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 ate 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.”
It may just be a short stroll across Glasgow from Calderwood’s city centre base to the Hydro, but it represents the culmination of a long road that started out 15 years ago as a young kid.
First introduced to Thai boxing as a frustrated 13-year-old, a love for mixed martial arts soon developed within the Kilmarnock native.
Her passion soon left Calderwood with a massive decision to make regarding her career. Continue down the path as a care assistant or pursue an avenue that would see her become a professional fighter.
Just like most of her contests ever since, there was only ever going to be one winner. “I felt I was a frustrated kid so when I went to training I got a lot of stress out. It helped me,” said Calderwood, whose defeat to Maryna Moroz in April stands to date as her only defeat from 10 professional MMA fights.
“I was a care assistant back when I was younger, but I’ve been full-time training and fighting now for 10 years.
“It’s my job to fight. I don’t do this because I want to punch someone in the face, I do it because it’s my hobby and I love it. It’s just nice that I get to do it as a job.”
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