LAS VEGAS — Cynthia Calvillo could inch close to strawweight title contention with a decisive win over former UFC and Invicta FC champion Carla Esparza on Saturday at UFC 219. But a takeover of the 115-pound division isn’t the only goal on Calvillo’s mind.
With the UFC recently instituting a fourth women’s division at 125 pounds — championed by TUF 26 winner Nicco Montano — Calvillo has her sights set on title runs across multiple weight classes in an effort to do what only four fighters have done throughout UFC history.
“Absolutely, (I’ve wanted to move up) as soon as I heard the division was opening, because most of my fights have all been at 125 before 115,” Calvillo said Thursday at UFC 219 media day. “This is my fourth fight at 115. But all of my amateur fights and all of that, and even my pro debut, were at 125, and then my other fight was at 120.
“I open to either [division], and I feel like I’m strong enough to compete at 125. I even competed at 135 when I first started. I just worked with my nutrition, but I feel like I have the same strength. Like I went and did the punching power (test) when I’m heavier and then when I’m (at the weight I am) now, and I still produce the same power. So I’m open to it. I feel like it’s all about skill and willpower and mentality, and I feel like it’s definitely something doable, and I really am going to give it everything. I’m going to try my hardest and hopefully go down as one of the greatest ever.”
While Calvillo’s eventual goals are lofty, her immediate future will be decided against Esparza at UFC 219.
The fight is one that Calvillo asked for in July when she was a guest fighter at UFC 214. Much to Calvillo’s surprise, that callout came to fruition in an unexpected way that same night, when a miffed Esparza confronted her at the afterparty of Team Alpha Male squadmate Andre Fili in a California club.
“A little run-in. Just a little run-in,” Calvillo said of the incident, laughing. “It was okay. It was just a little confrontation, no big deal.
“At that time I was ranked No. 8, she was ranked No. 7, Michelle Waterson was ranked No. 6, and they asked me who I wanted to fight. It made total sense — of course I want to go up for the two girls who are right above me. But at that time, when she heard it, she took it for a sign of disrespect for whatever reason. She was at my teammate’s afterparty and she wasn’t too happy with me.”
Out of respect for Esparza, Calvillo declined to go too into detail about the situation.
“We’ll just go ahead and, out of the person that I am, we’re just going to leave it right there,” Calvillo explained. “And then on Saturday we’re going to know what’s up.”
In Esparza, Calvillo meets a foe who is more decorated than any she has faced throughout her blistering 2017 campaign, which also saw her pick up wins over UFC contenders Montana De La Rosa and Joanne Calderwood.
Esparza was the first ever UFC strawweight champion, having captured the title in Dec. 2014 with an undefeated run on The Ultimate Fighter 20. Esparza submitted now-champion Rose Namajunas to claim gold, but ultimately lost the belt on her first title defense, falling victim to longtime strawweight queen Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Esparza has struggled since, sandwiching close wins over Juliana Lima and Maryna Moroz between a split decision loss to Randa Markos, while displaying limited growth as a striker.
But with six months having passed since Esparza’s last Octagon appearance, Calvillo is confident the collegiate wrestler has continued to evolve her game in her time away.
“I think in the fight, no matter what, people just go back to what they’re comfortable with, and I think wrestling is just something that’s a part of her,” Calvillo said of Esparza. “It’s just a part of her. It’s just a natural reaction for her. I think she’s very dominant with the wrestling, she comes from a great camp, she’s got great coaches that are not going to let her stay one dimensional. She’s going to continue to work on her striking.
“She wants to get back up in title contention. She can’t stay a one-dimensional fighter and think that she’s going to get back to being a champion that way, so I think she is getting better. I think she is evolving as a fighter.”
A win over Esparza at UFC 219 would complete a storybook year for Calvillo, who began 2017 as an unknown prospect preparing for her third professional fight.
Since debuting in the Octagon in March, the 30-year-old Calvillo has become a favorite of both fans and UFC president Dana White in short order for her aggressive style. Suddenly, a title shot could soon be only one or two more good wins away, and it’s all a little surreal for Calvillo, who can’t help but pile on the superlatives regarding her “crazy” and “amazing” year.
“I seriously had a rough time growing up. I had a rough time even getting to this point in my life, and things are starting to pay off for me,” Calvillo said. “But I took a lot of losses in life. I got a clean record, but trust me, I went through a lot of sh*t that would’ve made most people quit. They wouldn’t be doing this sh*t right now, I’ll tell you right now. And I hate it. I don’t like talking to people about it. Nobody wants to talk about negative stuff or anything like that, but I feel like I’m maybe deserving of everything that’s coming my way. I fought for all of this, and like I said, there’s no denying — it’s not like I just popped up. I have the skill. If I’m beating these chicks, obviously I’m putting the work in. It’s been years and years of doing this and a lot of losses that I took in my life.
“I am not going to turn away a title fight if they give it to me,” Calvillo added. “I think that maybe one or two more fights and I get a title shot, but like I said, if they offer me the fight next, I’ll take it. Carla, she’s the only person to ever finish Rose. So it goes to show, if I finish Carla, that might give you a little taste of what might happen if I ever fought Rose.”