Joanna Jedrzejczyk had a great opportunity to gain some recognition as a co-headliner at UFC 193, and she did just that Saturday. The UFC women's strawweight champion successfully defended her belt against Valerie Letourneau in the co-main event in Melbourne, Australia, via unanimous decision.
Ariel Helwani of Fox Sports tweeted out the official scores:
It wasn't a case of complete domination for the champion this time. Letourneau scored a knockdown in the early going that gave her some time in top control in the opening round. However, she eventually let Jedrzejczyk work the feet back to the standing department, where the disparity in skill became evident.
Letourneau did enough in the early going for MMA Fighting to believe it was a 50-50 round, though:
Jedrzejczyk was unable to take command in the second round, either. Letourneau showed that she was willing to exchange with the champion in the second round, and it paid off in a big way as the two continued to come up even on the feet.
Bleacher Report MMA noted how impressive it was for Letourneau to make things interesting in the early going:
The third round turned out to be a big one for the Polish champion. A heavy emphasis on leg kicks paid dividends as she immobilized Letourneau by attacking the lead leg while also landing shots to the head and body.
As the fight progressed into the championship rounds, the champion did what champions do: pull away. Combinations began to find their home with regularity.
Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports noted the difference Jedrzejczyk's kicks made on Letourneau's output:
The fifth and final round turned out to be more of the same as the champion proved her technique is difficult to beat over the course of a five-round fight. Josh Gross of ESPN noted the technical nature of the win for Jedrzejczyk:
The win gave Jedrzejczyk her second consecutive successful title defense. While that's four short of the six title defenses Rousey racked up before UFC 193, it has Jedrzejczyk on track to become one of the most recognizable stars in women's MMA.
She already has a style that's attractive to MMA fans. Her elite muay thai skills led to knockouts over Carla Esparza and Jessica Penne.
She has a marketable personality. Jedrzejczyk is nothing if not quirky. Her intense staredowns have already become a calling card, as she has a history of getting in her opponent's grill leading up to bouts.
She's even earned the praise of Dana White and UFC 193's headliner—Rousey.
"I don't know yet," White said per Michael Stets of MMA Mania when asked whether Jedrzejczyk would headline a card after her win over Jessica Penne. "I just want to bring her here and make her part of a big fight. People love her, man. Ronda titled her the 'fighter's fighter.' She's a fighter that all the other fighters like to watch and are fans of. I thought that was pretty cool. That's a cool title."
One difference between Jedrzejczyk and Rousey that still remains is just how cleaned out each champion's division is. Rowdy is quickly running out of challengers who pose even a theoretical shot at taking the belt.
For Jedrzejczyk, there are still some challengers out there. For instance, Claudia Gadelha has already fought the champion to a split decision once. With Gadelha since picking up an impressive win over Jessica Aguilar, it's a matchup that the contender thinks will happen sooner rather than later, per Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting:
I spoke with Sean (Shelby) and he told me in English, ‘I don't wanna Miesha Tate you.' My case is totally different than Miesha’s because she lost twice and they don’t want to do a third fight, and my fight with Joanna was different. She didn’t finish me, and she wants this fight too. It’s completely different. I believe this fight will happen now.
There are other contenders waiting in the wings, too. Rose Namajunas and Paige VanZant will meet Dec. 10 in a bout that could also produce a fighter who has a legitimate case for a title shot.
With a handful of interesting contenders on the rise and a champion like Jedrzejczyk, UFC 193 was a big win for the youngest division.
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