Fans Gripe About Great Main Event
eye vs calvillo preview
This Saturday’s main event has been highly criticized by all. I have had to endure MMA fans complain over and over that (male) Flyweights get overlooked. Everyone says how exciting of a division it is. People will compare it to this division or that division. They say that the division is more exciting and that everyone needs to pay attention, and that those fighters deserve so much money.
But now here, we have two (female) Flyweights headlining a card that are very exciting. It’s interesting the way fans decide to pick and choose when to respect the rankings and when to honor the judges’ decisions. When a fighter we love wins a questionable decision, we turn a blind eye. When two ranked fighters with a small fanbase are given opportunity, the complaints go through the roof.
Let’s make something clear here. Cynthia Calvillo and Jessica Eye are the only ranked fighters on the entire card. They deserve to be in the position they are in, period. They are ranked high enough and they are exciting. When fans want to say Amanda Nunes is the GOAT they say “ohhh, she beat this girl, she beat this girl, she beat this girl”. But when we talk about any other women past or present getting title shots or leaving a legacy, we have the nerve to suggest that the women’s divisions are not all that competitive. We say the divisions are still developing.
Flyweight may be a new division, but half the women that populate it are not. They have been here and they are worthy. How much can a division change if the top contenders keep high rankings and keep earning title shots over the past five to eight years. These fighters are just that good. They are all continuously elevating their level.
Calvillo’s Alpha Spirit
Cynthia Calvillo reminds me of a young Faber. She moves forward and is always looking for takedowns. Usually fighters like this are content to press their opponents against the cage if the takedowns fail. Calvillo is not like that. When she fails a takedown, she will take a minute and try again. If she misses a submission she will simply try again. If she loses position because she was being so aggressive, her spirit is unbroken.
I must admit, her athleticism is not elite, but she maximizes the tools she has in order to create opportunities to finish. Even with her ground and pound she is just coming in there to smash people.
She thinks she’s Wanderlei sometimes the way she comes in swinging, but she is more exciting because of it. It does worry me though, coming into a fight with Jessica Eye, who has experience and movement that can more than handle a fighter who charges in the way Calvillo does.
Jessica Eye’s Pliable Brutality
Jessica Eye has a loveable personality. Yes, she has had some uncomfortable exchanges with the fans, but many fighters do. She is warm, sporty and more technical than people give her credit for.
Jessica Eye does not throw strikes in the most graceful way. So, watching her use techniques is not where you notice her skill level. Eye makes her money with her ability to make adjustments. She is not necessarily a slow starter, but sometimes she does get off to a bad start. However, as time goes on, she will eventually improve both the execution and contents of her game plan.
We have seen this woman hit standing arm triangles and just brutalize girls. Jessica Eye is a main event fighter. This is expected from fighters from the Midwest. They are not about flash. They are tough and they come to win. And that’s what we will see on Saturday night.
eye vs calvillo preview
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