Squandered Opportunities: A Recap Of Cynthia Calvillo’s UFC Career

After going 5-1 in the amateurs, including a win over Aspen Ladd, Calvillo turned pro in August 2016. She soon went on a tear, winning three straight fights in five months, with two of them coming against future TUF alums Montana De La Rosa and Gillian Robertson.

That set the stage for a stunning Octagon debut at UFC 209. Booked against Amanda Cooper on just ten days’ notice, Calvillo got an unexpected main-card push after Khabib Nurmagomedov fell ill. She made the most of the opportunity, finishing her opponent with a first-round rear-naked choke, then exuding charisma and confidence in her post-fight interview.

Dana White loved it so much that he booked Calvillo for UFC 210 just over a month later – once again, in the main card. This time, she faced newcomer Pearl Gonzalez. After a near-cancellation amidst medical concerns over Gonzalez’s breast implants, Calvillo delivered yet another rear-naked choke finish.

The women’s strawweight division had suddenly found a new, exciting prospect. Here, seemingly, was a finisher with “swag”, being called “the next Ronda Rousey” by the UFC president himself. That notion was only strengthened further when Calvillo drew against Joanne Calderwood for the co-main event of a Glasgow card in July.

It did not go as smoothly as the first two outings did. Calvillo missed weight, then struggled to put away a wily veteran with superior striking. She did get a unanimous decision win, though, which displeased the local crowd.

That result convinced the UFC that she was ready to become elite. It gave her the biggest fight of her career – a main-card clash with former champion Carla Esparza at UFC 219.

This was where Calvillo could have silenced the doubters and established herself as a bona fide contender. At the time the fight happened, there was a new champion in Rose Namajunas, and the consensus was that Joanna Jedrzejczyk had to earn a rematch.

Alas, that did not happen.

Momentum Derailed

Calvillo was dominant in the first round of her fight against Esparza, deftly utilizing her size advantage to grind the former champion. In the waning seconds, however, Esparza managed to break free, and it seemed to break Calvillo. She seldom tried a takedown again, instead preferring to strike.

That mid-fight change in strategy proved costly, as Esparza took a decision win. Calvillo had lost for the first time in her career, but it would not be the only blemish she would suffer.

Around two weeks after the fight, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced that Calvillo had failed a drug test for marijuana metabolites. She would be suspended for nine months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC). It was a massive blow to her reputation – she went from hero to zero in almost an instant.

When Calvillo returned, it was against a fast-rising Poliana Botelho in Argentina. She missed weight again, but did get the third rear-naked choke finish of her career.

It was clear, however, that the former prestige was gone. A rather lackluster decision against Cortney Casey and a broken foot later, Calvillo had arguably her least impressive performance against Marina Rodriguez. She missed weight again and badly struggled against her opponent’s superior striking, needing a dominant third round on the ground to bail her to a majority draw.

A False Dawn

After that fight, Calvillo clearly needed a change. The weight cut to 115 was increasingly becoming untenable, and the flyweight division provided that change.

Flyweight Calvillo could have been someone to watch in the division’s early years, which were marred by a lack of dynamic athletes and explosive finishers. Her first opponent in this new world was Jessica Eye, who had challenged for the title a year prior. It was a winnable fight for someone who had not competed in the division since her debut, and she made the most of it, taking a clear-cut decision.

The only person ahead of her was another former challenger in Katlyn Chookagian, and they faced off on the same night Shevchenko defended against Jennifer Maia. The implications could not have been clearer – win, and Calvillo could be next. She lost convincingly, however, and that was it for her relevance.

That defeat began the worst stretch of Calvillo’s career: five straight losses, two of them within the distance. Not even a return to strawweight in 2023 could end that, and while she was twice offered a chance at a comeback, she pulled out of both.

End Of My Cynthia Calvillo Rant

Calvillo appeared to have it all: youth, killer instinct, and charisma. With the right coaching, she could have evolved into a star champion, and the timing of her supposed breakout moment could not have come any better.

Unfortunately, Calvillo’s ego eventually got to her, and instead of evolving, she stagnated, regressed even. The one solace from her departure from MMA is that she got to retire on a high, winning a title in her last fight. For that, she can be grateful – unlike BJ Penn or Chuck Liddell, who ended their careers looking at the lights in defeat.