Cynthia Calvillo: Jessica Eye ‘held on to the towel,’ missed weight by more than .25 pounds

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Cynthia Calvillo: Jessica Eye ‘held on to the towel,’ missed weight by more than .25 pounds

Jessica Eye’s comments on her failed weight cut didn’t sit well with Cynthia Calvillo.

Calvillo (9-1-1 MMA, 6-1-1 UFC) made a successful flyweight debut Saturday night in the UFC on ESPN 10 main event, defeating Eye (15-8 MMA, 5-7 UFC) by unanimous decision Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Although it was Calvillo’s debut in the division, her opponent was unable to make the flyweight limit, as Eye registered 126.25 pounds on the scale. Eye went on to say she was proud to have come so close to the required weight under the circumstances.

Calvillo was bothered by those comments and accused Eye of missing weight by more than what was official.

“To be honest, she didn’t miss weight by .25. She actually missed weight by a lot more,” Calvillo told reporters at the UFC on ESPN 10 post-fight news conference. “She held on to the towel when she got on the scale, and I know this because we received a text message from her coach letting us know she was going to miss weight by three-and-a-half pounds – not .2. When she showed up, she held on to the towel and got away with that.

“That’s why she was so proud after she weighed in, and she was so happy, and she was like, ‘Oh, I only missed weight by .25 pounds.’ No, she went into this fight a lot heavier than I did. So not only did I move up a weight class, I fought somebody that was a bantamweight going in there, not fighting someone at flyweight.”

In the weigh-in video, Eye’s hands weren’t visible as she stood naked on the scale. Whether or not she held onto the hoop provided isn’t conclusive.

Calvillo never thought about not fighting Eye after the miss. The 32-year-old has had issues of her own with the scale but said the way she went about it was much different than Eye.

“I’ve missed weight, too, and I’ve fought people that missed weight,” Calvillo said. “It’s all bout how you carry yourself outside when you miss weight. When I missed weight, I locked myself in the hotel, and I cried for hours. I wasn’t running around (explicit) smiling. I wasn’t smiling and blah, blah, blah.

“It was definitely different demeanor, but I knew I needed to put that behind me. At the end of the day, I like Jessica and stuff like that, but just the way that whole ordeal with the weight, that wasn’t cool. But it’s my job (to fight), so I was going to show up.”

Despite the drama surrounding the weight, Calvillo left UFC on ESPN 10 victorious, which was the ultimate goal. Calvillo is happy for her performance despite wanting more.

“I feel good. I mean, I’m always a little hard on myself, because I want to get the finish, but I got to remind myself I just took out the No. 1 contender in the flyweight division,” Calvillo said. “So I guess I should feel great, but I want that finish next time. I understand I had a really short camp, so we’re going to get it done next time.”

Cynthia Calvillo: Jessica Eye 'held on to the towel,' missed weight by more than .25 pounds