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Cynthia Calvillo will be going up against undefeated Marina Rodriguez at UFC on ESPN 7 next week and she is pretty confident about how the fight might turn out.
Originally scheduled to fight Claudia Gadelha, but now faces Rodriguez who has quite a different style than Gadelha. However, Calvillo has enough faith in her grappling and submission skills to predict the outcome of the bout, as she shared with MMA Junkie.
Calvillo: If it hits the ground, it's game over
Calvillo believes that once they hit the canvas inside the cage, the fight is going to be over for Rodriguez, and that is exactly what she has in mind for her latest rival.
“I feel like it’s going to be a fun fight standing, but if it hits the ground, it’s going to be game over. So if I get that opportunity to take her down, it’s going to be a quick finish for sure."
Calvillo will be attempting to knock Rodriguez out with her trademark ground-and-pound, or make her tap out. Either way, the win will be hers, she believes.
"Its going to be ground by elbows, first round ground-and-pound. It goes down, it’s going to be over. There’s going to be a submission or ground and pound. She’s either going to get stopped with a ground-and-pound TKO, or she’s just going to turn around and give me her neck."
Despite the raging confidence, Calvillo is in no way underestimating her opponent, especially when she is yet to be defeated. She has spent the last nine weeks training at a renowned Tiger Muay Thai gym in Thailand in preparation for the fight.
"She’s 12-0 for a reason. She is a muay Thai champ, and she did beat some notable names. She did beat Tecia Torres in her last match. She looked great, and I think it would be awesome for me to beat an undefeated fighter at 12-0 who’s ranked above me. So I think it’s an opportunity for me to really make a statement."
Calvillo understands the significance of stopping a fighter with a clear, undefeated record because she had been one till she let her guard down against Carla Esparza, which is the only loss in her career so far. She will be looking forward to doing the same to Rodriguez in the co-main event of UFC on ESPN 7 on December 8, Sunday, at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C.
