Of course, everybody is well aware of the male Ultimate Fighting Championship stars like Khabib and Conor McGregor.
But only the true UFC and mixed martial art enthusiasts know about the female fighters flying in UFC. Particularly, Joanne Calderwood is one of those who is rocking the no. 6 rankings in the UFC women’s flyweight division.
In fact, Joanne Calderwood is a Scottish professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Women’s Flyweight class in UFC.
Furthermore, beginning her career at Muay Thai boxing competitions, she is the former champion there. Not to mention, she is the first woman in Scottish history to come so much far in an MMA career.
No doubt, Calderwood carries a lot of inspiration for the women out there to pursue a career in fighting or the related physical duties.
Not to mention, she answers all the world’s doubts regarding women’s abilities in the sectors that demand immense physical and mental strength. Let’s dig into her life and major milestones in her career.
Quick facts
| Full Name | Joanne Calderwood |
| Birth Date | December 25, 1986 |
| Birth Place | Irvine, Scotland |
| Residence | Kilmarnock, Scotland |
| Nickname | Jojo The Whispering Assassin Badmofo |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Ethnicity | White |
| Education | NA |
| Horoscope | Capricorn |
| Father’s name | NA |
| Mother’s Name | Jeanette Calderwood |
| Siblings | One younger brother |
| Age | 37 Years Old |
| Height | 5 feet 6 inches (168 cm) |
| Weight | 57 kg (125 lbs) |
| Build | Slim |
| Shoe Size | 8.5 (US) |
| Eye color | Brown |
| Hair Color | Dark Brown |
| Profession | Mixed Martial Art Fighter |
| Active years in MMA | 2012 – present |
| Team | Dinky Ninjas Fight Team Tristar Gym (2016 – 2017) Syndicate MMA (2018 – present) |
| Style | Muay Thai |
| Fighting Out of | Glasgow, Scotland |
| Trainer | John Wood, Firas Zahabi, James Doolan, and Paul Mcveigh |
| Rank | Purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Sexual Orientation | Straight |
| Marital Status | Engaged (In a relationship) |
| Boyfriend | John Wood |
| Children | One son |
| Son | Maverick James Wood |
| Net Worth | $500 thousand |
| Career Earnings | $160 thousand |
| Social Media | Facebook, Twitter, Instagram |
| Merch | Books |
| Last Update | March, 2024 |
Joanne Calderwood: Early Life and Family
In particular, Joanne was born in Irvine, an ancient town in North Ayrshire, Scotland, on December 23, 1986. Likewise, she is the daughter of Jeanette Calderwood.
Besides, she has a younger brother with whom she spent her childhood in her hometown. However, the information about the high school and college she attended is unknown.
Notably, Joanne competed in swimming tournaments in her childhood. As a matter of fact, Joanne found herself engaged in Muay Thai training without intending to do so.
Actually, her brother used to attend the class with his friend. However, his friend did not come one day, and Joanne had to accompany him to the class.
Immediately, Joanne fell in love with the activities in the training class.
Consequently, she requested her mother to let her join the classes twice a week, quitting her swimming sessions. Soon, she started training on her own there.
Early jobs
During her teenage, Joanne served in several jobs.
To point out, one of the jobs she did was in a hospital to help children and people being treated with ventilation machines. Likewise, she used to monitor them and provided support whenever they needed it.
However, her job was a tedious 12-hour duty that hampered her training schedules and energy. Later, she started working in a gym and used to train there. After all, she chose to build a career in fighting than to continue her job.
Joanne Calderwood: Muay Thai Career
Eventually, Joanne started her fighting career in 2000 in Muay Thai, a combat sport of Thailand. In the long run, her continuous efforts and determination awarded her the STBA Fighter of the year in 2009.
Besides, she clinched the International Sport Karate Association’s World Flyweight Championship and currently holds it.
Similarly, she is the International Kickboxing Federation’s European Flyweight Champion. Moving on, she also earned the title at World Kickboxing League’s European Flyweight Championships.
Similarly, she poached the title at World Boxing Council’s UK Bantamweight Championship.
Furthermore, the World Professional Muaythai Federation ranked her at no. 2 positions in the world during those days.
To point out, she fought her final Muay Thai match in September 2012. Eventually, she ended her career in the brand with a 19-2-0 record.
Joanne Calderwood: MMA Career
Not to mention, Joanne had clinched a victory in her debut MMA match by TKO in the first round against Noellie Molina.
Soon, she joined Super Fight League in India. There she won against Lena Ovchynnikova by a unanimous decision in the third event of the competition. Similarly, at On Top 5, she defeated Ainara Mota.
Invicta Fighting Championships
After that, Joanna moved to the Invicta Fighting Championships. In the third event on October 6, 2012, i.e., Invicta FC 3, she defeated Ashley Cummins by a knockout in the first round.
Notably, for the knee-to-body knockout, she received the Knockout of the Night bonus.
Similarly, she faced Livia von Plettenberg on January 5, 2013, at Invicta FC 4. In like manner, she clinched a victory in the match with a unanimous decision.
Notably, the fight marked her debut on the main card of an event at Invicta FC.
Prior to this mark in her career, she was also scheduled against Bec Hyatt at Invicta FC 4 on 5 January 2013 in Kansas City but initially dropped the schedule.
Again, her fight was scheduled against then-unbeaten Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt holder Claudia Gadelha at Invicta FC 6.
However, the match did not happen as Gadelha had to face another opponent. As a result, she faced Norma Rueda Center at the event, whom she defeated through a unanimous decision.
Likewise, with a unanimous decision, she defeated Katja Kankaanpaa at Invicta FC 7. In the meantime, she had appeared at Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 53 in April 2013.
To point out, she had defeated Sally Krumdiack with a TKO in the first round in the match in Glasgow.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Beginning at The Ultimate Fighter
The UFC signed Joanne as a strawweight fighter in December 2013 for season 20 of The Ultimate Fighter with many other strawweight women.
Importantly, the season was to crown the UFC women’s strawweight champion for the first time.
Likewise, Joanne moved to the competition’s quarterfinals with a win against Emily Kagan by majority decision in the third round.
However, her run halted in the quarterfinal as she bowed to Rose Namajunas in the second round by kimura.
In fact, she earned $25,000 as the Fight of the Night bonus for the bout in the quarterfinal.
Similarly, she defeated Seohee Ham in December 2014 at The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned Finale. Notably, she had a unanimous decision victory in the match.
UFC Fight Nights
After that, Joanne fought at UFC Fight Night 64 against Maryna Moroz. However, she immediately submitted via armbar in the first round to lose the match.
Next, she was scheduled to fight Bec Rawlings at UFC Fight Night 72 in July.
In contrast, Cortney Casey replaced Rawlings at the bout since the latter suffered an injury.
Joanne defeated her by winning two out of three rounds claiming a unanimous decision. Furthermore, she was replaced by Rose Namajunas for the fight against Paige VanZant at UFC Fight Night 80.
Next for her was the fight against Valerie Letourneau at UFC Fight Night on June 18, 2016.
Significantly, she claimed the victory by a TKO in the third round at the first women’s flyweight bout in UFC history. In fact, she had struck Valerie with a kick to the body and finished her with punches.
Losses and Overweight
Similarly, she fought in a strawweight bout on September 10, 2016, at UFC 203. In the match, she lost to Brazilian Jessica Andrade in the first round by submission.
Similarly, she lost against Cynthia Calvillo at UFC Fight Night 113 with a unanimous decision. Moreover, Joanne had to pay a 20% fine of her purse for crossing the straight-weight limit.
Again, Joanna and Rawlings’s fight could not happen as Joanna withdrew from it because of injury. In fact, the match was scheduled for November 2017.
Eventually, a win came for her at UFC Fight Night 135 with submission in the first round against Kalindra Faria.
Recent fights since 2019
Similarly, Joanna won against Ariane Lipski, a Brazilian newcomer, by a unanimous decision at UFC on ESPN+ 1 in January 2019.
However, she tasted a defeat at UFC 238 against Katlyn Chookagian with a unanimous decision. Later, she defeated Andrea Lee at UFC 242 with a split decision.
Indeed, her bout against Valentina Shevchenko at UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship was postponed as Valentina suffered a leg injury.
Recently, she lost against Jennifer Maia at UFC Fight Night by submission in August 2020. As a matter of fact, she was placed against Jessica Eye at UFC 257 in January 2021. She won the battle through unanimous decisions.
The very recent fight of her to date was against Lauren Murphy on 12 June 2021 at UFC 263, which she lost with a split decision. She was all set to nail down all the pressure and fight against her, but it seemed like luck was not in her favor.
In a pregame interview, Joanne also said that fight with Murphy would be the potential fight of the night.
Fight Records in numbers
| Mixed martial arts record | |
|---|---|
| Total | 21 |
| Wins | 15 |
| By knockout | 5 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 9 |
| Losses | 6 |
| By submission | 3 |
| By decision | 3 |
Joanne Calderwood and Carrot Cake
What? Joanne Calderwood and carrot cake, what is it like? Scrolling down over the internet pages, we found that Joanne has a strong liking not only for Muay Thai but also for baking carrots as well.
“I am gonna make you a carrot cake after I beat you up.”
Joanne is only the athlete who offers to bake a carrot cake for her opponent after battling with them, or does she want to make a carrot cake out of the opponent.
It’s good if Joanne wants to bake carrots inside the ring, but if she would be baking carrots outside the ring, that’s the worst flavor of cake ever.
We would rather eat carrots than having a cake out of them.
Joanne Calderwood: Achievements and titles
No doubt, Joanne has had a wonderful career in both MMA and kickboxing until now. Furthermore, there is a lot to come as she shows no chances of falling from her position.
Notably, Joanne has won IKF European Flyweight Championship and the same title at ISKA, WBC British, and WKL Europe.
In fact, she was honored with the Scottish Thai Boxing Association’s Fighter of the Year award in 2009. Similarly, in UFC, she earned a Fight of the Night honor in her bout against Cortney Casey.
Moreover, Women’s MMA Press awarded her the Fan Favorite of the Year 2014 and the Newcomer of the Year 2012.
Joanne Calderwood: Net Worth and Salary
Surely, Joanne is making a decent sum of money with 14 wins in her career. Besides, she has been fighting for UFC since 2013.
Prior to that, she competed at Invicta Fighting Championship and Muay Thai kickboxing. Henceforth, she can be expected to have earned a fair sum of prize money.
Joanne Calderwood has a net worth of $500 thousand as of 2024.
Furthermore, she had received a bonus of $25,000 in 2014 for providing the Fight of the Night. Besides, she also made $43,000 despite her loss at UFC on ESPN+ 31.
Similarly, she received $50,000 for her recent bout in August 2020. Overall, the highest she earned was for the win at UFC 242, receiving $75,000.
Joanne Calderwood: Relationship
In fact, Joanne has a pretty private life and wants to avoid unnecessary gossip about her matters outside of the ring.
At the same time, she has been in a relationship with John Wood since early 2018. Notably, Wood is a trainer at Syndicate MMA.
Not to mention, Wood has been coaching Joanne for some years now. Moreover, they have given birth to a son named Maverick James Wood. Similarly, the couple was engaged in October 2019, and they plan to marry soon.
To add up, Joanne was previously engaged to her former trainer James Doolan until 2015. But that was her past and added information on her life which has already been deducted in real.
Planning on their wedding
Well soon to be Mr. and Mrs. Wood are quite excited to plan on their wedding. They have also set the wedding date, which is not out yet, and also revealed their wedding planner.
Take a look at the embedded screenshot where Joanne seems to be posing around with her now-fiancee and later spouse.
Unstoppable Love for Tattooing
It seems like the Scottish professional Mixed Martial Artist Joanne Calderwood has an inviolable love for tattoos, You just have to take a look at her once, and you will find the majority of her body covered with meaningful tattoos.
Arm tattoo
Jo Jo Calderwood’s upper side of the left arm has a tattoo in which a boy is watering a heart with the watering pot. The ink is all linked to the protection of our heart is a must as the heart is the purest part of our does not lie.
Thus, healing is required when we are hurt. Again, the outer side of the upper left arm is inked with a woman exploding her head with a gun from which the blood that flies is inked in the backside of her arm in the form of butterflies.
The portrait tries is basically a morose art, which depicts the woman is freeing herself from all the boundaries by shooting herself in the head. Henceforth, butterflies mean freedom, flying to wherever they want.
Jo Jo, aka Joanne, also has a tattoo of a girl and a boy on her left arm. The ink is a symbolization to fight for the modern relationships.
Likewise, a freestyle design is also inked in her left arm, which is an influence by a yellow-flowered Eurasian dead-nettle found in woodland.
Joanne has an arrow designed on her right arm. The arrow believes that God wants to use her for the best, and she has prepared herself before appearing on the battlefield.
Her outer side of the right hand has a massive own inked on it.
Back Tattoo
Well, Joanne’s backside of the neck has a tattoo of a honey bee wearing bo0xing gloves with alphabets in a foreign language.
The central back has a traditional pyramid Thai Sak Yant tattoos, which signify good luck, strength, and success.
Joanne also has a falling angel drawn on her lower back, which means one should never lose hope after falling down, basics of life.
Just above her knee, on her left thigh, Joanne has a tattoo that reads BREATH.
Joanne Calderwood: Social Media
No doubt, Calderwood falls on the list of renowned female fighters in the decade. Accordingly, she has made a fair number of fans in her social media accounts.
As of now, she uses Instagram and Twitter as her official social media handles. Besides, she has an unverified Facebook page too.
Instagram: 148 thousand followers
Twitter: 84.6 thousand followers
Facebook: 36,144 followers
Joanne Calderwood: Commonly Asked Queries
What is Joanne Calderwood’s MMA record?
Joanne Calderwood has a 14-5 win-loss record in her 19 matches as a professional MMA fighter.
Out of them, she has won five matches by knockout, one by submission, and eight by decisions. Furthermore, her three defeats came with submission and two by decision.
When is Joanne Calderwood’s next fight in UFC?
At the moment of writing, there are no such revelations regarding the notable Joanne Calderwood’s next fight.
We hope to hear about her next battle real soon.
Does Joanne Calderwood undergo plastic surgery?
The answer to this question is still a question mark. Well, there are no such rumors, statements of Joanne going through plastic surgery to date on the infobahn.
But yes, scrolling down her Instagram profile, there is a post where she captioned,
“Thanks for all the well wishes and messages. It was only a wee surgery, as you can see.”
