Three sometimes winds up being the magic number for UFC fighters – and not in a good way.

With three straight losses, especially to open their run with the promotion, many fighters find a pink slip waiting for them from the UFC and they’re forced to head to another organization to try to earn their way back.

Tonight at UFC Fight Night 135 at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Neb., Kalindra Faria (18-7-1 MMA, 0-2 UFC) could be tempted to worry about being backed into a corner when she fights Joanne Calderwood (11-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) in a women’s flyweight bout. After all, Faria is 0-2 in the UFC and a third loss might send her packing. But she’s trying to stay focused on just winning, rather than what might happen with a loss.

“I’d rather not think about it,” Faria told MMAjunkie.

Faria came to the UFC nearly a year ago after she won Titan FC’s inaugural women’s bantamweight title in a trilogy fight against Carina Damm, whom she was 1-1 against heading in. A month later, she got a short-notice call to fight in the UFC.

Against Mara Romero Borella at UFC 216, Faria tapped to a rear-naked choke in the first round. Faria was supposed to fight Andrea Lee, but Lee had to be removed from the card for a USADA issue after Faria already had arrived in Las Vegas.

“My UFC debut was sad because I was coming off an injury, and I hadn’t fought in a year,” Faria said. “I got the offer with 10 days’ notice. I accepted that bout, even though I wasn’t really training. I was just doing physical therapy. I didn’t find myself in that fight.

“It was my life’s dream – there’s no way I wouldn’t take that fight. I thought my experience might have been enough.”

It didn’t help Faria that Borella had Jessica Aguilar cornering her, either. Faria lost a decision to Aguilar at WSOF 15 in November 2014.

Three months later, Faria returned with a full camp under her belt, but dropped a split decision to Jessica Eye at UFC Fight Night 125.

“Against Jessica Eye, I trained well,” Faria said. “I landed some very good strikes. But in the second round, I didn’t properly execute a takedown against the fence, so Jessica had my back for most of the round. It was a very close fight. … I think it was hard for the judges. But that loss doesn’t bother me.”

In the wake of that loss, her second straight, Faria said she had foot surgery to fix an issue that dates back to when she was a kid. And now, she thinks her first win is about to come against a very solid name in Calderwood.

“I’m ready for my first UFC win against Joanne Calderwood,” Faria said. “I already know what it’s like to fight in the UFC. I need to taste victory. I enjoy facing experienced fighters. It’s going to be really cool.”

Faria’s fight with Calderwood is the featured bout on the UFC Fight Pass prelims ahead of additional prelims on FS2 and the main card on FS1.

For more on the UFC Fight Night 135, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.