Don’t look now everyone, but here comes…Poland?
Yes, after years of producing gritty, rugged characters who generally amounted to enhancement talent, Poland has become something of a little country that could in the MMA space.
And it’s the ladies who are carrying the banner.
UFC 201 saw Karolina Kowalkiewicz outduel Rose Namajunas in a women’s strawweight co-main event that was action-packed and indicative of the level of talent in that division. Kowalkiewicz was as unheralded as any top-five fighter in any UFC division coming in, but she calmly dissected one of the sport’s top prospects in the biggest fight of her life.
The win very likely secured her a title shot, potentially at UFC 205, one of the biggest pay-per-views the UFC will ever do as it looks to make a splash in its debut in New York City. That shot? That shot will come against fellow Pole Joanna Jedrzejczyk, who started this whole thing.
Jedrzejczyk, happy to go by Joanna Champion to save North Americans some pronouncement-related embarrassment, has been a buzz saw since joining the UFC. She came out of nowhere to narrowly top Claudia Gadelha in late 2014, a time when most felt Gadelha was the best 115-pounder on the planet, and never looked back.
A show-stealing thrashing of Carla Esparza netted her the strawweight title. An even more vicious pounding of Jessica Penne made her someone no one else wanted to fight. A calculated beating of Valerie Letourneau made her one of the promotion’s senior champions. Then, a second win over Gadelha confirmed her greatness.
That second Gadelha win, perhaps the most exciting fight in a month when the UFC put on six cards, was particularly remarkable for Jedrzejczyk, who was pushed as she never had been in her MMA career. She fought off takedowns, won the standup battle and overtook Gadelha to pull away in the final three rounds. It was a special showing from a special champion representing an increasingly special country.
Names like Jan Blachowicz, Tomasz Drwal and Mariusz Pudzianowski—the sort of rugged journeymen who will put on a good fight or provide a tough out for a developing talent—have carried Polish MMA up to this point. Others wearing their Polish heritage proudly, like Bart Palaszewski or Kryzysztof Soszynski, were similarly relevant over the course of careers that are now over.
It led to Poland being highly respected in the sport for the durable, workmanlike athletes it produced, but nobody expected such a big leap in talent so soon—if at all.
Now, the country comes out of July with a reigning champion and a pending challenger in the division that may be the hottest in the promotion, given the skill and excitement produced there on an almost per-fight basis.
They didn’t get there on durability and workmanlike efforts either, instead slicing through strawweights with impeccable striking, surprising grappling skills and the type of focus and spirit that have been evident in Polish athletes since the earliest days of their MMA participation.
It’s a great thing to see, this small country showing an almost unmatched degree of evolution in such a short period of time. It reminds one of the freedom that MMA can provide, where nations like Poland or Ireland, another small European nation that’s produced a champion and has dozens of others coming behind him, can put their stamp on a sport simply by showing up to the gym and improving every day.
Bring on Jedrzejczyk vs. Kowalkiewicz for the women’s strawweight title. It’s a great thing for fans to enjoy such a high level of talent on display, and it’s a great thing for Poland as it continues its invasion of the highest ranks of the UFC.
Follow me on Twitter @matthewjryder!
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