Joanne Calderwood talks win at Cage Warriors 53 and fighting again for Invicta

Kingdom MMA Interview Joanne Calderwood after her Cage Warriors 53 win

by Ben Heather @benheather

At Cage Warriors 53 Joanne Calderwood improved her MMA record to 6-0 with a devastating TKO victory against Sally Krumdiack and today Kingdom MMA again got the privilege to ask Joanne some questions, this time about her fight and her future.

Firstly Joanne congratulations to you on your win at cage warriors 53, did you feel any emotions when you made your way to the cage in your hometown on Saturday night?
Every time I make my way to the cage/ ring its usually always the same drill, I just listen to my song and try to stay calm. I actually hate the walk in but there is no emotions at that point or in the fight for me. I only feel stuff after the fight, there's no place in a fight for emotion.

What did you make of the crowd? It sounded to me like the whole arena was shaking when you made your entrance.
I knew there was going to be a lot of support there but tried not to concentrate on that. I always look forward to catching up with everyone after the fight when I don't need to focus and be in the zone. I was actually surprised talking to people that i didn't know after the show that they were there just to see me fight because they are following my career. Any support other than my family and gym family is a bonus so I was even happier Saturday night. I've heard the atmosphere was crazy for my fight but I'm not the type to notice it at the time.

How did you rate your performance?
On a scale of 1-10.......6 it's cool I got to show case my boxing in this one, that was new but I've still got a lot of show.

Did Krumdiack fight how you expected and how you had trained for in the cage?
No she didn't, but like I always say I expect everything when I go in there. You can think about the fight to go a hundred million different ways and it could still be different. My coaches expected Sally to rush forward and try hold or take me down against the fence sooner, the one time she did rush I caught her.

Just before the end of the fight Krumdiack made her first and only mistake by missing with a spinning back fist, you made her pay for this and got the stoppage.
Can you talk us through the end of the fight?
I backed Sally up to the fence and as she tried to spin for the Backfist I teeped her off balance, basic Muay Thai, Sally scrambled up and rushed forward punching, I adjusted my range and dropped her with a check uppercut, I knew Mark Goddard was a bit away so I followed her down and hit her until he stopped it in case Sally recovered.

At the time I thought there was a gap in the knock down and the next few shots but when I seen it back I was on her pretty quick which I'm happy about, killer instinct is never anything I've been lacking I like when that shows.

Do you pride yourself on the fact that it only took one mistake by your opponent for you to finish the fight?
I think at this level it only takes one mistake by either fighter,I think one mistake will be the difference between winning and losing, that's why there's no place in my fights for emotions and concentration is so important. I fight doing my best to not make mistakes if the other girl does I'll jump on it.

Have you watched the fight back, if so did you spot any areas for you to improve on?
Yeah I've watched it back, I was back in gym the Monday going over things and I found out on the Wednesday that there was a grappling competition on in the town I was going to for a wedding so I jumped in on that and won my division which was cool as I didn't get to grapple during the Cage Warriors fight.

I love the quote and I've took it on for the way I'm looking at my future....'Arriving at one goal is the starting point to another. ' goals obviously being fights ;) I'm always going to be looking to improve every area of my game.

Did you come away fit and healthy from the fight?
Yeah although after a few days off the diet now I don't know about healthy ;)

Your next fight has just been announced, what do you make of your opponent and how many fights away from a title fight possibly with Carla Esparza are you?
My next fight is at Invicta 6 against a great Brazilian fighter Claudia Gahdela who's 9-0, a BJJ blackbelt and from nova unioa, Jose Aldo's team so that's all I will be focusing on for now. Claudia was meant to fight Carla at Invicta 4 but got injured training, I guess the winner of this fight will be next in line for who ever has the belt after Invicta 6. What's for me won't go by me.

Do you think the Krumdiack fight could be the last time you get to fight in the UK for a while, if so are you happy you got to put on a great show in your home town as a parting gift to the UK scene?
I enjoy fighting abroad so I can stay in hotels and steal the wee soaps, towels and bath robes to sell them back in the scheme. ( my team mates Paul and carpet wanted to help with this interview and l promised I'd keep at least one of their answers in).

I'm going to be tied to Invicta which keeps me in the US but if a big opportunity came up I'm sure Invicta would let me fight in the UK, there is nothing in the foreseeable future so it could be a long time before I fight in Glasgow again. I suppose if it was to be my last home fight it couldn't have gone much better. KO of the night on a big international show.

Would you like to say thanks to anyone?
Thank you for the interview. Thanks to Cage Warriors for having me on and Invicta for giving me permission to stay active I can't wait to get back there though its starting to feel like home.

If anyone is looking to sponsor me for my next 6 fights in USA please get in touch with jamesdoolan23@hotmail.com your support would be much appreciated.

Thank you again for your time Joanne and we all at Kingdom MMA look forward to seeing you fight at Invicta 6.