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On June 18, Joanna Calderwood will return to action for the first time since July 2015 when she takes on Canadian Valerie Letourneau at UFC Fight Night Thompson vs MacDonald. Today the Scottish strawweight told us why she asked the UFC if she could fight the former title challenger.

"It was because she was Canadian and I knew that she wanted on the Canada card so I knew it would have to be Valerie or Randa [Markos] who is another Canadian UFC fighter," explained Calderwood. "I would've just been happy to happy to get either one of them but Valerie is just coming off a loss to Joanna [Jedrzejczyk] and I really like her style so I just thought it would make a good exciting match up for the Canada card."

The fight will be unique in the sense that it will be the first ever women's flyweight fight to take place in the UFC. Calderwood believes that 125lbs will be a more pleasurable weight to fight at for her given it means she won't have to partake in a big weight cut before the fight.

"In my second MMA fight I fought at 125lbs and I just liked it because I didn't have to go through the last ten pounds like I would have to cut for 115lbs," said Calderwood. "That normally really takes it out of you so that is going to be the real only difference. Valerie and I are normally two that walk around a little heavier and are some of the bigger girls in the 115lbs division. It just means that we don't have to go through that traumatising time and I think I'll have more energy."

(Image: Getty)

While Calderwood said she was looking forward to fighting at flyweight, she did also mention that she wouldn't rule out competing at 115lbs (strawweight) again and said it was actually more likely than not. The prospect of the UFC creating a 125lbs division permanently, however, was something that appealed to Calderwood.

"I think it would be a good option but I'm just going to see how this fight goes," she said."I like to stay active and that's a little hard at 115lbs as I do cut a lot of weight. If any short notice fight did come up then I could tell the matchmaker I could easily take the fight four weeks before if it is at 125lbs but I can't do that currently at 115lbs. If they do make the decision to make it a permanent thing then I'll just go wherever the fights are."

Prior to the fight being booked, Calderwood had made it well known that she wanted to fight in Canada and she revealed to us the exact reasons why that was.

"There were a few reasons but I'm never going to experience coming out and fighting in front of my home crowd again like I did back in July, it was just an amazing moment and I think I was just in such an amazing place knowing there were so many people there supporting me with all my fans, family and teammates.

"When you are abroad not many of your team and family can travel with you because of the expense. When I fought in Glasgow my mum was there and I spent a lot of time thinking about her being in the crowd and whether she was going to be alright and that. When I go away I don't have to worry about anyone so it's good for that reason."

(Image: Getty)

While Ottawa is a long way from Glasgow, it's not so far from Montreal where Calderwood has spent some time in the last months few months training abroad at the notorious Tristar gym away from home. She said that the experience has been invaluable and that she was looking forward to getting back to Canada to prepare for the fight.

"The only reason I came back was because I was a little homesick and I had to renew my passport," said Calderwood. "Now that I've got this fight my head is down and I'm ready to get back to Canada to prepare. When I get there it will only be four or five weeks until the fight so I'm pretty much in full camp now. I've upped everything already so when I get over to Tristar again it will be a case of a few my hard weeks and then I will begin to taper down."

Calderwood's goals for the start of the year were to settle down into her new surroundings and to really focus on her feeling comfortable in her training. She now says the second half of 2016 is all about being active in the Octagon and getting as many fights as she possibly can.

"I feel really settled at Tristar now and I'm really happy with where I am," said Calderwood. "Now I just want to stay active and get as many fights as I can and see what happens with the UFC and the flyweight division. If that doesn't happen then so be it but I want another one or two fights by the end of the year."

Before heading back to Canada, Calderwood wanted to share a message to her fans who explained were 'the best in the world'.

"I just want to say a thank you to all my fans - they really are the best anyone could ever ask for," said the Scot. "They've supported me throughout my career and I think they just like me for being myself. I really appreciate that because I think it really is important in sport that you express yourself and that you don't have to change for anyone. I can't say thanks enough."

You can watch Joanne in action at UFC Fight Night: MacDonald vs. Thompson live on BT Sport on Saturday, June, 18th.