UFC 257 results: Joanne Calderwood decisions Jessica Eye in entertaining scrap

Both Jessica Eye, a former UFC flyweight title challenger, and Joanne Calderwood, a fighter who’s long been on the cusp but never quite gotten there, went into their UFC 257 main-card bout Saturday night as the loser of two out of their past three.

That gave their flyweight fight an extra sense of urgency that translated into a highly entertaining bout. Two wild rounds of back-and-forth striking in the pocket and in the clinch led to a third round, which Calderwood (15-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC) bore down and sealed the deal. The judges’ scores at Etihad Stadium in Abu Dhabi were 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28 for a unanimous decision.

The action was fast and furious from the jump. Eye (15-9 MMA, 5-8 UFC) is a heavy hitter for her size, and she found a home with overhands and hooks. Calderwood mixed her strikes, from combos to kicks high and low. Clinches that started in the center ended up on the fence on several occasions, usually with Eye pinning Calderwood back, but Calderwood consistently caught Eye off the break, then chased her back to the center, where the exchanges started anew.

By the second round, Eye’s right eye was swollen due to a big overhand right. Calderwood continued to pepper Eye in the clinch, including a memorable right knee to the body followed by a big kick midway through.

In the third, Eye tried to implement a wrestling game. But Calderwood stuffed takedown attempts and had the highest impact strikes, including a big front kick to the face and a huge late knee to the head that opened a cut as the seconds wound down.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 257 results include:

• Joanne Calderwood def. Jessica Eye via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Makhmud Muradov def. Andrew Sanchez via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 2:59
• Marina Rodriguez def. Amanda Ribas via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 0:54
• Arman Tsarukyan def. Matt Frevola via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
• Brad Tavares def. Antonio Carlos Junior via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Julianna Pena def. Sara McMann via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 3:39
• Marcin Prachnio def. Khalil Rountree via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Movsar Evloev def. Nik Lentz via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Amir Albazi def. Zhalgas Zhumagulovc via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)