Cynthia Calvillo, a UFC strawweight veteran, announced her retirement from MMA on Instagram, stepping away after 13 fights in the octagon. The 38-year-old from San Jose, California, expressed deep gratitude to her coaches, fans, and the UFC for supporting her journey from local gyms to the world stage.
A Fighter Closes Her UFC Chapter
Her retirement post was heartfelt.
“It’s time to say goodbye to a sport that I gave everything to and that I loved so much,” Calvillo wrote. “I wasn’t ready to let it go just yet but life and opportunities that fizzled out has led me to pursue the next chapter in my life. I just want to say thank you to every single person that helped me live this crazy dream of mine. To all the coaches that believed in me and spent countless hours making me the best I could I be, y’all don’t know how much it means to me. To the UFC, Dana White [and matchmakers], thanks for letting this little girl from East Side San Jose live her dream! It was f*cking dope being a superhero!”
Calvillo’s final UFC fight was a unanimous decision loss to Lupita Godinez at UFC on ESPN 44 on April 8, 2023, capping a five-fight losing streak. She competed at strawweight and flyweight, finishing with a 6-6-1 UFC record. Her early run was strong, going 6-1-1 with wins over Pearl Gonzalez (submission, 2017), Joanne Wood (decision, 2017), and Jessica Eye (decision, 2020). Later losses to Katlyn Cerminara (2020), Jessica Andrade (2021), Andrea Lee (2021), Nina Nunes (2022), and Godinez marked a tough end to her UFC tenure.
