Joanna Jedrzejczyk defeated Jessica Penne at UFC Fight Night 69 in Berlin, and it wasn’t even close. Jedrzejczyk put on another stellar championship performance.
Jedrzejczyk ended the fight in the third round after brutalizing Penne with her striking. She threw just about everything in the book, and referee Marc Goddard stepped in to rescue Penne from further punishment. Goddard saw a knee go down the pipe and decided to not prolong the beating. Jedrzejczyk made the first successful defense of the UFC’s newest title.
What was even more astonishing was the raw data from the fight:
Michael Carroll of FightMetric, the UFC’s official stats provider, reported that Jedrzejczyk landed 126 significant strikes during the contest to just 25 of Penne. Jedrzejczyk connected on 61 percent of her strikes. That is a phenomenal number at this high level.
Even more impressive?
The 101-strike differential is second in UFC history—only behind Rich Franklin’s championship performance against David Loiseau.
The Franklin-Loiseau fight went the distance. And it only had a 106-strike differential. It is hard to imagine what Jedrzejczyk could have done to the record with an extra 10-plus minutes to work with. Penne’s battered face would have only been thrashed more.
Jedrzejczyk is a charismatic champion who backs up her words in the cage. When asked after the fight who she would like to face, she merely responded to Dan Hardy, “Are they ready for me?”
Are they?
Jedrzejczyk’s staggering output is only made more incredible by how she defended the takedown attempts from Penne. She did not spend the entire rounds at a striking distance. She defended numerous takedown attempts from the clinch and worked her way out of the position. Jedrzejczyk’s hand speed is ludicrous, and it shows in the numbers.
The strawweight division will continually throw credible, interesting challengers her way. It is not a shallow division like bantamweight is. And it is only growing.
Even still, as we sit here today, it is difficult to imagine who can dethrone this champion. Her takedown defense is only improving, and she is far and away the most skilled striker. Jedrzejczyk is also the most powerful and has legitimate fight-ending capability with just one punch. There aren’t many other fights who can say that.
A plus-101 striking differential tells the tale of this fight, and the tale of Jedrzejczyk’s dominance in the division.
The Polish champion claims that she will be the champion for the foreseeable future, and it is difficult to argue. Her striking background is second to none in the division. She is so technical and precise in the Octagon, it is difficult for her opponents to find success on the feet.
Jedrzejczyk’s output is so high, it continually forces them to be defensive. That only allows Jedrzejczyk to tee off even more. She is an impressive champion whom we are fortunate to have.
Whoever comes to challenge the queen of this division next will have to be prepared for a constant onslaught of strikes. Jedrzejczyk’s speed and precision are going to be difficult to stop.
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