An important bout in the women’s flyweight division is on deck for UFC 254.
Cynthia Calvillo, who announced her arrival at 125lbs earlier this year by defeating Jessica Eye, has been lined up for a fight with Lauren Murphy. While no official announcement has been made by the promotion, both fighters have reportedly agreed to the bout. MMA Fighting was first to report the news.
Calvillo (9-1-1) spent the better part of three years in the UFC’s strawweight division. But she struck out in terms of weight, missing the 116lb non-title limit three times. The most recent, and most blatant, came at UFC on ESPN 7 in December, where Calvillo weighed 120.5lbs. She would go on to fight to a draw with Marina Rodriguez that night, and make the decision to move up to flyweight following the fight.
Coincidentally, her debut opponent at flyweight, Eye, missed weight for the pair’s June bout. Calvillo won the fight via a unanimous decision.
At UFC 254, Calvillo will go up against the surging Lauren Murphy. A former bantamweight with the UFC since 2014, Murphy has hit her stride of late, rattling off three straight wins against Mara Romero Borella, Andrea Lee, and Roxanne Modafferi.
That’s Murphy’s best run since 2013, when she won the Invicta FC bantamweight championship.
The women’s flyweight division is wide open at the moment, as champ Valentina Shevchenko has all but cleaned house. Recently, Joanne Calderwood, who appeared to have a title shot locked up, opted to fight Jennifer Maia on short notice. Maia won the bout by submission, and jumped into Calderwood’s place as a result.
UFC 254 takes place October 24, 2020, and is expected to be headlined by Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje in a lightweight title unification fight.
