Joanne ‘JoJo’ Calderwood, now known as Joane Wood following her marriage to her husband John Wood. Joanne is a beloved Scottish fighter who is always up for a challenge. She was guaranteed a title shot after beating Andrea Lee. The fight took place in 2019 on the UFC 242 card, where JoJo won by a split decision.
However, the fight between the champion, Valentina Shevchenko and JoJo was cancelled because of an injury to the champion. But the 34-year old did not sit around, as the Ultimate Fighting Champions (UFC) president Dana White always says, “stay active”. But that gamble did not pay off, as she lost to Jennifer Maia in a dominating fashion.
Since then, Joanne has alternated wins and losses. She defeated Jessica Eye and then lost to Lauren Murphy. Wood has amassed a record of 15-6 in her career. She will be looking to bounce back in the upcoming fight against Talia Santos (18-1). Talia is a dangerous opponent who has only lost one fight in her entire career.
“I loved the experience of getting married”: Joanne Wood
“I loved the experience of getting married, it felt like fight day on wedding day.”
— UFC News (@UFCNews) November 18, 2021
Joanne Wood (@DRkneevil) talks about getting married during fight camp and gives her thoughts on #UFCVegas43 opponent Taila Santos ????⬆️ pic.twitter.com/94IHZEywsL
Talking about her fight camp for the upcoming fight, Calderwood said, “The training campaign was good, we didn’t really focus on anything specific. We do jujitsu, we wrestling, We are combining all those things into MMA. I am always throwing an elbow whichever position I am in or whichever sport or discipline we are doing. I call it a good habit.”
Fighters are always injured as a result of their physical workload. They are never 100% healthy. On the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman revealed the hardships he faced during each of his fight camps. Jojo echoed the statement and said, “There were a couple of injuries in this camp. But whenever you don’t have an injury, your wonder what’s going on!”
In the interview, she also spoke about her desire to come back as early as possible following the loss to Lauren Murphy. She revealed that she is at a stage in her career where she wants to be active regardless of wins or losses. She also spoke about her wedding and what it was like to manage the wedding during an intense fight camp.
“Usually not that excited. And yet I feel like I’m grateful I had support around me to take the stress off planning a wedding in the midst of a fate camp. I loved the experience of getting married. I felt like fight Day on wedding day. It was crazy.” said the Scottish fighter.