Preview: UFC Fight Night ‘Gonzaga vs. Cro Cop 2’

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WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHTS

Joanne Calderwood (9-0, 1-0 UFC) vs. Maryna Moroz (5-0, 0-0 UFC)

THE MATCHUP: The debuting Moroz gets a big opportunity against Scotland’s top fighter in Calderwood, who made it to the semifinals of the “The Ultimate Fighter 20” and remains one of the top fighters in the new women’s strawweight division. Calderwood defeated Seo Hee Ham at the finale and is gunning for the next shot at new champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

Calderwood’s game revolves around her relatively traditional muay Thai base. She prefers to be either all the way outside or all the way inside, with little time spent in her opponent’s punching distance. Calderwood makes good use of her height and length at range, peppering her opponent with a constant stream of push kicks to the legs and body, front kicks, low and middle kicks and a crisp jab. When punching, Calderwood’s goal is generally to move herself forward into the clinch, avoiding the pocket where her lack of head movement and other forms of tight defense make her vulnerable. She is one of the best infighters -- if not the best -- in the division, with exceptional leverage, strong control and slick knees and elbows. Her defensive wrestling is solid if not exceptional, and she has some nice trips and throws of her own. On the mat, Calderwood does good work from top position, but she is relatively raw, which is more of a liability when she ends up on her back.

Moroz is mean, athletic and has some real talent, but she is exceptionally raw everywhere. She has some boxing and kickboxing experience and uses her height well behind a crisp jab, but she has subpar footwork, tends to reach with her strikes and is always there to be hit. Her takedown game is effectively nonexistent, although she knows how to sprawl and work in transition. The real strength of her game is her armbar, but far too often she has to pull guard to get into position to use it and eats shot after shot in the pursuit. Moroz has great upside and could develop into a solid fighter, but she is literally years away from being ready for this level of competition.

THE PICK: Calderwood is simply better everywhere and should put a vicious beating on the hittable Ukrainian. I expect Calderwood to work some kicks from the outside and then punch her way into the clinch, where she will land knees and elbows at will until Moroz falls or the final bell sounds. The former option seems more likely, despite Moroz’s toughness, so the pick is Calderwood by knockout in the second round.

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