Paige VanZant vs. Joanne Calderwood kicks off year-end UFC weekend
Paige VanZant's step-up in competition has arrived. The 21-year-old prospect is slated to meet top-ranked Joanne Calderwood on Dec. 10 in the headlining bout of a UFC Fight Pass event in Las Vegas, NV.
The UFC confirmed the bout on Thursday following an initial report by .
News of the bout arrived soon after VanZant (6-1) announced she had inked a new deal with the UFC.
The Team Alpha Male fighter is currently the No. 6 ranked strawweight on the UFC's media-generated rankings, and has quickly become one of the most popular women in the division, capturing exciting victories over Kailin Curran, Felice Herrig, and Alex Chambers.
In Calderwood (10-1) though, VanZant meets the toughest test of her UFC career.
The 28-year-old native of Scotland, affectionally nicknamed "Badmofo JoJo," was considered to be one of the top 115-pounders in the world once Zuffa acquired the Invicta FC strawweight roster.
After an uneven start to her UFC career, Calderwood got back on track in her last outing, defeating Cortney Casey in UFC Fight Night 72's 'Fight of the Night.'
UFC Fight Night 80 takes place at the inside The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino. The show kicks off an unprecedented three-day stretch of UFC events, which includes the TUF 22 Finale headlined by Frankie Edgar and Chad Mendes, and culminates in the blockbuster meeting between UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo and interim champion Conor McGregor at UFC 194.
In addition to VanZant vs. Calderwood, ESPN confirmed a previously reported lightweight match-up between Jim Miller (25-6) and Michael Chiesa (12-2), plus a welterweight bout pitting Tim Means (24-7-1) against John Howard (23-11) for the Dec. 10 card.