Joanna Jedrzejczyk is the new strawweight world champion, capturing the gold with a stunning destruction of Carla Esparza at UFC 184. It was a fast rise to the top of the 115-pound division for the Polish striker.
How fast? Her UFC debut was her first fight at 115 pounds. Her previous six wins all came at flyweight. After defeating Juliana Lima, Jedrzejczyk was put opposite Claudia Gadelha in a title eliminator. With another win, her title fight was set.
But who’s next for the new champion?
The strawweight division has long been the deepest division on the women’s side of the sport, but it is still in its infancy in the UFC. The leaves the field for Jedrzejczyk‘s first defense wide open. Of the Top Six contenders, five are booked. The lone unbooked fighter is No. 1-ranked Esparza, who just lost her title.
The UFC has options, but two names jump off the page should they win their respective bouts: No. 6-ranked Joanne Calderwood and No. 2-ranked Claudia Gadelha.
Gadelha is set to fight Aisling Daly, and Calderwood is slated to square off against Maryna Moroz. Both fights will happen on April 11th in Krakow, Poland, at UFC Fight Night 64. The champion will be in attendance. It seems clear that one of the two, with victories, will be the next challenger for the gold.
Gadelha would be the logical choice. She is a higher-ranked contender with bad blood toward Jedrzejczyk. In their tightly contested fight, Gadelha took a swing after the bell on Jedrzejczyk. The fight was determined by the judges in a split decision. The contentious ending and close decision would make it seem as if Gadelha is the leader in the clubhouse.
Calderwood, however, has merits of her own that make her a credible choice for the UFC.
The Scottish striker is undefeated in her professional MMA career. Her lone loss came on The Ultimate Fighter and is considered an exhibition. If the UFC wants a more exciting stylistic matchup for Jedrzejczyk‘s first title defense, they can do no better than Calderwood.
The striker vs. striker matchup would be electric. They have contrasting striking styles, but both love to mix it up in close. The Calderwood vs. Jedrzejczyk matchup is the more stylistically pleasing of the two options, but Gadelha is the more sporting contest due to her standing in the division.
What is interesting about the card placement of UFC Fight Night 64 in Poland is that Gadleha will be in the featured preliminary bout while Calderwood is in the opening fight of the main card. Is that telling of who the UFC is eyeing for Jedrzejczyk? Possibly.
I believe the right move is to give Calderwood the title shot with a win. Gadelha deserves it more, but the UFC is trying to establish a division.
Jedrzejczyk vs. Calderwood is an exciting stylistic affair that can headline a European card later in 2015.
It is a more important fight to continue deepening ties across Europe by giving fans there a great title fight. As the better action fight, it will continue to get the casual fans excited about the strawweight division. It is more beneficial to the UFC, and the division, to side with the more exciting matchup at this time. Gadelha will still be a viable title contender at a later date. Calderwood would have more work to do. This is an opportune time to make this fight.
The UFC cannot go wrong with either fight, but I suspect it is actually the No. 6-ranked strawweight who has the inside track to the title shot. Ultimately, whomever has the more exciting performance on April 11th will face off with Jedrzejczyk.
It is the Scot who also has the more favorable draw that day also.
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