Brandon Magnus/Zuffa LLC
UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas has its main event, Paige VanZant versus Joanna Calderwood. The matchup features two very popular female fighters at very different stages right now. PVZ just inked a new deal with Zuffa, which means more money, more marketing and presumably more problematic matchups as she attempts to fulfill her potential at 115lbs.JoJo is coming off a couple fights in which she showed heart, but not much technical improvement. Her headspace wasn't right, and it affected her performance. There are people out there saying this is an easy fight for PVZ, given her high-octane style, because JoJo doesn't seem to like having fists up in her face. The Scottish athlete likes the counter game, goes the narrative, and would rather stand up straight and Thai box from a distance rather than get in close and dirty, clinching it up and exchanging elbows and uppercuts.We shall see. A fighter with a bad mindset will always look like a shadow of her real self, and there has been time between JoJo's last fight and this one, airing December 10th, to give her time to acclimate to her new gym, her new place in the division, her new place in her own skin. PVZ is on a tear, as much for whom she trains with and her good looks as for her winning ways, good chin, and fast paced aggressive style. This is a great fight for the division and for both women.They are popular for different reasons, fight very different fights, and are both willing to stand in the spotlight and engage the media and the fans. Great matchmaking by the UFC.It's really interesting when you take the timing and context of the event. It will take place in December, just before the year ends, in a hellacious run of fights that extends into January of 2016. The card features some other good fights, Tim Means versus John Howard for example, and is the first of a three night extravaganza featuring the Edgar-Mendes bout that caps TUF 22 and the long awaited meeting of José Aldo and Conor McGregor on December 12th, at UFC 194.PVA versus JoJo is the first act in a play extending over days, a three day period in which the MMA gods will see fit to end 2016 in earthshattering fashion, with new champs and contenders and storylines to occupy the faithful as winter arrives and bridges us into the coming year.