Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Cynthia Calvillo will take the path of least resistance when she meets Jessica Eye on June 13.
Female flyweight Cynthia Calvillo sees no reason to trade blows with a striker when she can just take the fight to her element, the ground. Paired up against Jessica Eye for UFC Vegas 2’s main event, Calvillo feels comfortable enough to share what her strategy for Saturday night will be.
In an interview with Combate, Cynthia believes she can finish Eye on the ground with strikes or with her jiu-jitsu. Furthermore, Calvillo is tired of having close fights on the feet and having to listen to the fans’ criticism afterwards. From now on, she plans to stick with what she is best at, her grappling.
“To be honest, I want to take it to the ground. I can choke her or finish her with my ground and pound, which is what usually brings me more success. I don’t want close fights, because everybody used to criticize me. ‘She has a good ground game, but her striking? It sucks’, they would say. In some fights, I wanted to prove them I could strike with the best. But this is MMA, you win the fight in any way you can. So why should I make it easy for those girls if I can just take them down and finish them?’
Although the interview was given before the weigh-in Calvillo already foresaw that Eye could have a problem with the scale, which proved to be true. At the official weigh-ins, Jessica missed weight by 0.25 pounds and looked drained out there, which could be a sign of an unhealthy cut. Should that be the case, Cynthia plans to take full advantage of the situation.
“She is super tough. I used to watch her before back when I was still an amateur. I thought she was awesome. When I joined the UFC, I always knew that one day I would probably have to fight one of those people. I think I match up well with her. Given that this is a short notice fight, I think she’ll have a difficult weight cut. I think I’ll be faster, with better cardio and I won’t be so drained from the weight cut. That’s why I think I’ll shine and do what I want and finish the fight.”
In her last outing, Cynthia Calvillo (8-1-1) fought Marina Rodriguez to a majority draw, back in December 2019. Before that, the 32-year-old was on a two-fight winning streak, with victories over Poliana Botelho and Cortney Casey. Her last and sole defeat dates back to December 2017, when Cynthia dropped a unanimous decision to Carla Esparza.
Now, Cynthia Calvillo is expected to take on Jessica Eye at UFC on ESPN 10’s main event, on June 13, at the UFC Apex, in Las Vegas.