by STEVE HAN | @steve_han
editor@charactermedia.com
South Korea’s first ever female UFC fighter Ham Seo-hee withstood three gruesome rounds in her debut, but her gritty efforts against Joanne Calderwood on Friday weren’t quite enough for a win.
The 5-foot-2-inch Ham was evidently overmatched against Calderwood, whose 5-foot-6 frame gave her an edge in the women’s strawweight fight at The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale event at The Pearl at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. Despite the disadvantage in size, Ham clawed her way into the fight by spinning away from Calderwood’s punches and countered with lethal hits of her own. The 27-year-old even bloodied Calderwood’s nose in the second round even while she took more hits during the bout’s fiercest exchanges.
Calderwood dominated the third round with a front kick to Ham’s face, followed by a takedown. The Scottish Muy Thai champion then delivered several punches, which left an exhausted Ham helplessly vulnerable in the dying seconds of the fight.
Ham, whose loss to Calderwood (9-0 overall, 1-0 UFC) gives her a 0-1 UFC record, still maintains an overall 15-6 record. However, her recent loss has snapped her six-fight winning streak, which began in April of last year.
Born in Busan, South Korea, Ham joined UFC last month after fighting in Deep Jewels and Road FC events since 2007. She is South Korea’s first female UFC fighter and only the ninth overall.
