UFC 257 live blog: Joanne Calderwood vs. Jessica Eye

This is the UFC 257 live blog for Joanne Calderwood vs. Jessica Eye, a flyweight main card bout on Saturday’s fight card at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

Eye is seven months removed from a decision loss to Cynthia Calvillo at UFC Vegas 2 that sent her back to the drawing board after a decision over Viviane Araujo at UFC 245. Calderwood is also coming off a setback after a first-round submission loss to Jennifer Maia at UFC Vegas 5 that scuttled a title shot against champ Valentina Shevchenko.

Check out the UFC 257 live blog below.

Round 1: Keith Peterson is the third person in the cage for this flyweight fight. The two women meet in the middle and the pace is furious right out of the gate! Eye throws some punches in close and Calderwood lands a knee and some elbows. Hands being thrown from both women. Now Eye clinches again and pushes Calderwood to the fence. She can’t get much going on there and back at space Calderwood lands a good right hand.

Eye clinches again and drives Calderwood back but again nothing doing and she does eat a knee. Back in space and Eye is throwing punches in bunches. Not a lot of pop but she’s landing more often than not. Another clinch and Eye locks up a hand and rifles a number of punches into Calderwood’s head. Eye drives her back again. Right now, Calderwood is certainly landing strikes but Eye is outworking her and throwing in combination.

Another clinch against the fence and Eye really isn’t doing anything with these positions but she’s also not letting Calderwood land knees. Well, now she is. Calderwood lands a pair of good knees and Eye drops down again to the hips. The two separate and Calderwood lands a good combo. Now Calderwood seems to be loosening up and she’s throwing kicks and knees to go with punches. Calderwood is also working the body nicely.

Eye clinches again briefly but now they’re back in space. Eye’s hands are definitely landing but Calderwood is taking over with kicks. Eye definitely seems to be slowing a bit and Calderwood ends the round with an elbow.

MMAFighting scores the round 10-9 Calderwood.

Round 2: The first round could have gone either way so this second round is huge and the two women are right back at it. Calderwood lands a kicks to the body and they clinch. Eye lands some right hands and Calderwood lands a knee. Eye marching forward now and Calderwood lands a huge front kick to the face. That may have broken Eye’s orbital as her face is swelling up like a balloon. Now Calderwood is teeing off with punches as Eye marches forward.

Calderwood lands a kneetap takedown! She immediately stands back up but that was unexpected. Eye forces a clinch and lands some good uppercuts to the heads and body. Calderwood now trying to pick her shots a little more and work at rand and Eye still trying to crowd and throw volume. Another clinch and Calderwood breaks it and lands a big knee. Another clinch and Calderwood lands a huge knee to the body and a kick to the body. The body work is really huge and Eye’s volume is dropping.

Calderwood now in space and this is where she’s picking Eye apart but Calderwood is also starting to look a little winded. A spinning back kick to the body lands from Calderwood. And Calderwood is landing a very nice check hook repeatedly when Eye jabs. Calderwood is also still landing body kicks when Eye moves away. Eye’s activity has really slowed down now but Calderwood throws a spinning back elbow that Eye ducks under and secures a takedown with less than a minute left. Eye is in side control and Calderwood gets her back to the fence immediately and Eye is unable to do any damage with the takedown.

MMAFighting scores the round 10-9 Calderwood, 20-18 Calderwood overall.

Round 3: Depending how the judges scored the first round, this fight could be even heading into the final 5 minutes. Calderwood on her bike to start the round and lands a pair of kicks as Eye marches in. Eye forces a clinch and is working a single-leg takedown against the fence but Calderwood is defending well. Not much happening here as both women jockey for position against the cage but neither can get to where they want. The occasional knee is coming from both women but two minutes into the round and next to no damage has happened, just grinding.

After another 30 seconds, Peterson finally separates the two women and Calderwood lands a body kick and a knee to the body. Eye clinches again but Calderwood doesn’t allow here to force her to the clinch. Eye lands a good combo on the break. Another clinch and Calderwood defends and Eye lands another combo. Now Eye shoots a double-leg but Calderwood sprawls very nicely and Eye gives up on it.

At range again and Calderwood is landing front kicks to the knee. Another clinch and Calderwood lands a good knee to the body. Both women are noticeably tired and now Calderwood is forcing Eye back in the clinch. Calderwood landing uppercuts and knees. Eye eats a knee that looks like it hurts eye and it definitely opens a cut up on her. eye shoots a takedown but Calderwood sprawls again and the round ends with Calderwood avoiding the takedown.

MMAFighting scores the round 10-9 Calderwood, 30-27 Calderwood overall.

OFFICIAL DECISION: Joanne Calderwood defeats Jessica Eye by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).