Her Career Renewed, Amy Cadwell Eyeing the Highest Levels of Women’s MMA

Prior to making her pro debut in May, women’s flyweight prospect Amy Cadwell had debated leaving the sport after a series of losses as an amateur.

Determined to give it one last shot, Cadwell changed camps, turned pro, and has won back-to-back fights for the CageSport promotion.

“My whole fighting career has been kind of a whirlwind,” said Cadwell. “My last five amateur fights were all losses, and then I decided to go pro. I felt like I had enough experience and had enough fights to go pro, so I just did it, and I’ve ended up being successful.”

In her first pro fight, Cadwell avenged an amateur loss to Cheryl Chan via unanimous decision. More recently, in October, she defeated Hadley Griffith, whom Cadwell had previously defeated in the amateur ranks.

“(The fight with Chan) was a war, but I came out on top and was able to feel like I did a good enough job and put on a good show for the fans,” said Cadwell. “My rematch with Hadley ended up being another war.

“The second round, she defended really well and caught me in a guillotine choke, but the end of the round bell came just in time as I was starting to pass out. I was able to wake up, go back to my corner, regroup, and I knew I had to finish her in the third round, so I got in a little hip toss on her and got her back and sunk in a rear naked choke.”

Cadwell (2-0) will be going for her third win in a row on Saturday, Dec. 7, in Tacoma, Wash., when she takes on possibly her toughest opponent yet in late replacement Jessica Doerner (4-2) in a 120-pound CageSport feature bout.

“She’s tough just like my original opponent was going to be,” said Cadwell of Doerner. “I know her only losses are to legit opponents in our weight class, so it’s going to be a tough fight, and to come out with a win is going to be a good win for me.

“I’m just going to go in and do what feels right. I’ll see how I feel standing and bring it to the ground if I feel that’s my best chance to win.”

After almost stopping before she even got started, Caldwell looks to be on the cusp of a breakout year should she pick up another victory on Dec. 7.

“It’s been an awesome year for me,” she said. “It was really unexpected. Before I turned pro, I debated quitting because I thought that was all I had left, but I decided to stick with it and give it another try and it’s ended up being successful, so I’m just going to keep going.

“I believe in myself again, am doing something I love, and I’m able to make some money at it. I think there’s some huge opportunities for me right now at 115 pounds. I’m going to work on everything I can to improve in every area of my game and if all goes well I’ll be able to head to Invicta sometime next year.”

Like MMAWeekly.com on Facebook and Follow @MMAWeeklycom on Twitter.