Cynthia Calvillo says she has the best ground game at 125lbs, vows to give Valentina Shevchenko “trouble”
UFC women’s flyweight Cynthia Calvillo says she has the best ground game at 125lbs, and she vowed to give Valentina Shevchenko “trouble.”
Calvillo returns to the Octagon this Saturday night at UFC 266 when she takes on Jessica Andrade. Shevchenko, meanwhile, fights Lauren Murphy for the UFC women’s flyweight title later in the evening. If Calvillo has an impressive win over Andrade this weekend, she could get the title shot against the winner of Shevchenko vs. Murphy, a fight that the oddsmakers are giving Shevchenko 12-to-1 odds that she will win.
Speaking to MMA reporter James Lynch in a recent interview, Calvillo was asked how she believes a fight against Shevchenko and her would go. As far as Calvillo goes, she thinks she would give the champ trouble.
“I think it’s going to be your typical striker vs. grappler match. Obviously, I’ve gotta be really careful with her striking, and we know that she has a really good ground game, as well. I feel like I have the best ground game in the division and I really think that’s going to give her the worst trouble there. I know Jennifer Maia tried to hold her against the fence and stuff. She couldn’t really hold her down for too long, but she was probably the closest to doing it. So yeah, that’s how I see the fight. I think I have a really good chance. I’ve leveled up here a ton in Las Vegas and I’m extremely confident in myself facing Valentina in the future,” Calvillo said.
Calvillo is currently the No. 5 ranked women’s flyweight in the UFC, making her the highest-ranked fighter who Shevchenko has not been booked against yet. Even though Calvillo lost her last fight against Katlyn Chookagain, she can make everyone forget about it with a big win over Andrade at UFC 266.
Do you think Cynthia Calvillo would be competitive in a title fight against Valentina Shevchenko?
