In a wide open women’s flyweight division featuring a dominant champion in Valentina Shevchenko, Andrea Lee has a chance to insert herself into the title picture this weekend.
Andrea Lee stands as one of the most decorated women’s flyweight prospects today. One who boasts a record of 11-2, which includes wins over the likes of Ashlee Evans-Smith, Liz Tracy, Racahel Ostovich, Montana De La Rosa and many more. However, none of the fighters KGB Lee, as she’s affectionately known, has defeated so far carry heavy weight behind them. All of them are good fighters, but none of them can be termed as division stalwarts.
Hence it is arguable that Lee’s next opponent, Joanne Calderwood, is the best she has ever faced. True, in past she has locked horns against the likes of former title challenger Roxanne Moddaferi. But that was back in 2014. Since then ‘KGB’ (her Russian-esque good looks earning the moniker) has evolved as a fighter. Which has led to Calderwood standing in front of her now as her biggest test yet. This fight is also an opportunity for Lee to prove that she is a fighter who can take on the divisional elites.
Lee enters this fight on a career high six-fight winning streak, with three of those wins coming in the UFC. She has been undefeated for the past two years, and has been very vocal about getting a title shot. Given the state of the current UFC women’s flyweight division and the lack of clear contenders, Lee is for sure a name in the title mix. However, if she wants to seal her position in the division she needs a win over Calderwood.
Joanne Calderwood is one of the better fighters in the flyweight division. Beloved even. At a record of 13-4, which includes wins over the likes of former KSW flyweight champion Ariane Lipski, this 32-year-old suffered just her first loss at flyweight back in June of this year. ‘Jojo’ is making a quick turnaround in hopes of maintaining her relevance in the division. Defeating a motivated Calderwood is a job not many can pull off, making this fight even more exciting.
This flyweight clash will bring out the best of the both the fighters. It will also set the course for the division in the months to come. Overall an exciting and important match. Which is no doubt why it’s landed in the featured fight slot on the UFC 242 prelims.
UFC 242 takes place Saturday, September 7th. The card airs exclusively on ESPN+ PPV in North America after televised and online prelims, and on BT Sport in the UK. In India, the card airs live on SONY Ten 2 and SONY Ten 2 HD.
