This is the UFC 185 live blog for Carla Esparza vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk, a woman’s strawweight bout at Saturday night’s UFC event at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Esparza, who has won five straight fights, will face Jedrzejczyk, who is 8-0 in her career, on the main card.
Check out the UFC 185 live blog below.
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Round 1: Referee is Don Turnage, who advises the strawweights for their title fight. Esparza in a singlet. Jedrzejczyk takes center, and begins feinting. Esparza shoots in for a single leg, and Jedrzejczyk sprawls, and clips Esparza with a good parting shot. They stand and threaten, and then Esparza shoots in for a single leg, and this time she holds onto it for the duration, and forces Jedrzejczyk to her back. Can’t keep here there, though. Jedrzejczyk right back up. Big exchange in close on fence, and Esparza lands a very nice right hand. The wrestler once again drives through the Polish fighter and puts her down, and once again Jedrzejczyk able to stand back up. Esparza is all business. Jedrzejczyk lands a great elbow that might have hurt Esparza a little bit on the fence. Esparza right into shooting for takedown, once, and then twice, and she’s thwarted both times. Now Jedrzejczyk opening up with her arsenal on fence, and she lands a couple of good shots. Jab by Jedrzejczyk. She clips Esparza again. Jedrzejczyk sprawls and prevents another takedown, and this time Esparaza — after eating a shot — dekes like she’s going to shoot and then swings. Bang! A couple of timely shots upstairs from Jedrzejczyk, and Esparza looks a little unsteady as the round ends. Wow. MMA Fighting scores R1 for Jedrzejczyk, 10-9
Round 2: Big shots from Jedrzejczyk to open the round, and she stalks Esparza to the corner. Esparza right back to her bread and butter, trying for the takedown, but again she is thwarted. Esparza just getting frustrated. She has nothing for Jedrzejczyk on the feet. Her only response is to wrestle. Again, she shoots in, and Jedrzejczyk drops her on her face. Big combination from Jedrzejczyk, and those shots land. She defends the take down again, and lands some elbows on Esparza’s temple. Body shot with a jab from Jedrzejczyk, and now a right. Esparza tries for takedown, and she’s just eating lively punches whenever she does. Esparza has no answer for this. She’s also extremely tied. Now Jedrzejczyk is teeing off. Big rangy right lands, which snaps her head back. Left jab. Esparza half-heartedly goes for takedown, and it’s feeble. She gets blasted with right hand. Repeat. Right hand from Jedrzejczyk again rocks Esparza. That jab is carrying hell in it. And there it is…Jedrzejczyk opens up with a huge combination on the feet, and Carla can’t hang in there. Jedrzejczyk is the new champion, as the referee stops the fight. Wow. Poland has a hero.
UFC 185 official results: Joanna Jedrzejczyk def Carla Esparza via TKO (strikes) at 4:17 of R2