NEW YORK – UFC veteran Joanne Calderwood remembers hitting the canvas and thinking, “(Expletive), here we go again.”

Her opponent, Kalindra Faria, left Calderwood little time to use the tools she’d trained to snap a two-fight losing streak. Grappling wasn’t in the plan.

But as the seconds ticked toward the end of a frenzied opening round, Calderwood (12-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) made an adjustment, and she found a way to turn the tables with a triangle and armbar that produced a tap.

The lesson wasn’t lost on “Jojo.”

“For me, it was a confidence boost and just shows me my mindset has changed, and it’s still changing,” Calderwood told MMAjunkie on Wednesday in advance of a fight against Ariane Lipski at UFC on ESPN+ 1.

Calderwood not only changed divisions after two losses, but she changed locations with a full-time move to Las Vegas. She works out at the UFC Performance Institute to make sure she’s fighting healthy at 125 pounds after years of gutting it out to make the strawweight limit.

More than ever, Calderwood feels like she’s living up to her potential.

“The biggest thing that holds people back from their true potential is their mindset,” Calderwood said. “I feel like in the gym, everything’s going well. I’ve had fights where I’ve had that mental block, and sometimes it’s made me make mistakes. So that’s the biggest thing I feel.”

When Calderwood got acquainted with Lipski (11-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) on videotape, she stopped worrying about having another what-now moment in the octagon.

“I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m excited for this,’ not just because I’m fighting her, but for the fans,” Calderwood said. “I definitely feel like both of us are coming from a striking background, and both of us like to stand and bang. So it’s going to be fireworks.”

Watch the video above for our full exclusive interview with Calderwood.

For more on UFC on ESPN+ 1, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.