Bangor native Emily Peters Kagan’s bid to become the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first women’s strawweight champion ended in a first-round tournament loss to Joanne Calderwood.
The bout, part of the 20th season of “The Ultimate Fighter” television series, was broadcast Wednesday night on the Fox Sports 1 cable network.
The undefeated Calderwood, seeded second among the 16 115-pound fighters competing in the first all-female edition of the show, scored a majority decision over the 15th-seeded Kagan.
Two judges scored the bout 20-18 with Calderwood winning each of the two five-minute rounds that made up the battle, while the third judge scored the fight a 19-19 deadlock, with each fighter winning one round. Had the fight been scored a draw after two rounds, a third five-minute round would have determined the winner.
Both rounds were close, particularly the first round when each combatant had her moments as Calderwood and Kagan battled from a stand-up position.
Calderwood scored a takedown early in the second round and soon locked in a reverse triangle that left Kagan trying to escape for the remainder of the round.
“I wanted to win. I wanted to keep working toward that belt. I didn’t finish the fight and that’s what happens when you leave it to the judges,” Kagan said on the broadcast after the fight. “Definitely feel I could have pulled the trigger more. I really wanted to keep fighting. I definitely would have thrown down for a third round for sure.”
Calderwood, a Glasgow, Scotland, product, improved her record to 9-0 while advancing to the second round of the tournament.
Kagan, who lives and trains in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is 3-2.
