A new team, a new division, a new fighter; Joanne Calderwood discusses it all in advance of her return to the Octagon this weekend.

Joanne Calderwood was the second seed in the tournament to crown the inaugural UFC women’s strawweight champion when Season 20 the show debuted back in the fall of 2014.

Arriving with a perfect 8-0 mark and four victories under the Invicta FC banner, the soft-spoken Scottish Muay Thai fighter was considered one of the favorites in the quest to claim UFC gold, but after beating Emily Kagan in the opening round, Calderwood was bounced from the competition by eventual finalist (and current titleholder) Rose Namajunas.

People still had high hopes for Calderwood once the season wrapped and the division got rolling, but she could never quite put together the performances needed to carry her into contention. An upset loss to Maryna Moroz ended her unbeaten run while the rigors of making the 115-pound limit sapped the Kilmarnock native’s energy reserves.

Her best performance came in a one-off flyweight engagement with Valerie Letourneau in Ottawa, Ontario, but was followed by a first-round submission defeat to Jessica Andrade and a decision loss to Cynthia Calvillo where Calderwood came in three pounds over the strawweight limit.

She was scheduled to face Bec Rawlings in Sydney, Australia last winter, but an injury forced her out of the contest and then the quiet, tattooed talent kind of slipped off the radar.

“It feels good to be back at Fight Week. I’m excited and I’m excited for Saturday,” said Calderwood, speaking with FanSided on Wednesday morning, three days prior to her return to the Octagon.

A great deal has changed for Calderwood in the year and changes since she last stepped into the UFC cage.

In February, she made plans to venture to the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas to work with the talented staff at the full-service facility and her two-week trial turned into a permanent move to the desert, where she hooked up with John Wood and the crew at Syndicate MMA, a gym that boasts a strong collection of female fighters amongst its ranks.

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Most importantly, Calderwood made the decision to move up to compete at flyweight, eschewing the physical and emotional stress that accompanied fighting at strawweight for a happier, healthier existence as a member of the 125-pound weight division.

“I’ve made a lot of changes – changes for the better – which makes me confident and excited,” explained Calderwood, who squares off with Kalindra Faria in Saturday’s Fight Pass featured prelim. “Although it’s been tough not being in the Octagon for a year, it’s also been very good for my career because I finally feel like I’m in the place I’m supposed to be in.

“I wanted to make sure that I had female training partners,” she said in regards to working at Syndicate, which is home to fellow flyweights Roxanne Modafferi and Jessica-Rose Clark, amongst others. “Honestly, it’s been so, so good. I’ve evolved as a fighter and I’m getting better. There are no excuses like, ‘Oh, they’re a guy and they’re just out-powering me’ or any of that stuff. It’s an awesome change and I’m really enjoying having female partners.

“Roxanne is coming out to corner me and warm me up. It’s good having that because I’ve never had females in my camp. I’ve had a couple of training partners, but never to this extent.”

With everything falling into place over the last year, all that is left to do is step back into the Octagon and remind people of why she was considered a contender when she first arrived in the UFC and build upon the strong flyweight first impression she made two summer’s back in the Canadian capital against Letourneau.

Sitting on consecutive losses is never a comfortable position, but like everything, there is a way to spin it positively.

While most look at back-to-back losses and feel backed into a corner, left facing a “do or die” situation that carries increased pressure, it can also be an opportunity to let loose and not hold anything back because after falling out of contention and off the radar, there isn’t really much left to lose.

Accepting and acknowledging that there is pressure attached to each and every fight, no matter what your most recent result was, Calderwood is viewing this weekend’s opportunity as a positive – a chance to put on a good performance, show what she’s capable of as a full-time flyweight.

“There is pressure for every fight,” she said. “Every fight, our days are numbered, so I’m just going to use it as a positive. Obviously, I’m feeling more confident that I’ve done everything that I’ve needed to do and even before, I put on good performances, but this time, I feel like I’m going to show my potential.

“(Changing divisions has been a) big confidence boost because I’m happy and I’m healthy. My whole camp has been really great – I’ve had no injuries and none of the mental stress of having to cut a stupid amount of weight or that extra training to make strawweight. It’s an amazing feeling and I just feel like this is where I’m stronger and faster and happier and healthier at this weight.

“This time, I feel like I have the whole package and to make a mark in the flyweight division.

With inaugural champ Nicco Montano set to defend the title for the first time against Valentina Shevchenko a couple of weeks from now at UFC 228, the rest of the fighters in the flyweight division have started jockeying for position in the rankings and looking for the matchup that will help elevate them to contender status or earn them a shot at the winner.

“This time, I feel like I have the whole package and to make a mark in the flyweight division.”

As much as proving she’s a contender and getting in on the title chase is part of her long-term plan, Calderwood’s main focus is making an example of Faria this weekend in Nebraska and then making up for lost time.

“All I have to do is go out and show that on Saturday – put on a good performance and get back in the win column,” she said when asked what it will take for her to establish herself as a contender her new division. “All I can do is to keep on winning.

“The main goal is to win on Saturday so that I can fight again before the end of the year.”

A year away will do that to you.

Rekindling your competitive fires helps too.