Joanna Jedrzejczyk Offers Up Words Of Encouragement For Conor McGregor

Showing she is more than just a fighter, Joanna Jedrzejczyk offered up her thoughts on Conor McGregor’s recent loss to Nate Diaz.

Jedrzejczyk, the reigning UFC strawweight champion, is set to defend her title this July against Claudia Gadelha. The t…

joanna-jedrzejczyk-press-conference

Showing she is more than just a fighter, Joanna Jedrzejczyk offered up her thoughts on Conor McGregor’s recent loss to Nate Diaz.

Jedrzejczyk, the reigning UFC strawweight champion, is set to defend her title this July against Claudia Gadelha. The two were selected as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter.

In her post on Instagram, Jedrzejczyk also put forth her respect for Diaz, who choked out McGregor in the second round at UFC 196.

She is also branching out with her training and prep work, getting in a session in Colorado recently with former bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw and his head coach, Duane Ludwig.

Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Claudia Gadelha To Coach TUF 23, Season Premiere On April 20th

the-ultimate-fighter-23

During the UFC Fight Night 81: Dillashaw vs. Cruz event at the TD Garden in Boston, Mass. on Sunday evening, UFC announced the coaches for the next season of The Ultimate Fighter.

The 23rd season of the regular Ultimate Fighter series, not counting the various international TUF seasons, will be coached for the second time in history by women fighters, as UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk and the number one contender in the division, Claudia Gadelha, will be the opposing coaches for the upcoming season, which will air on FOX Sports 1 (FS1).

Following the live announcement on FOX Sports 1 last night, UFC issued the following press release with all of the important information regarding plans for TUF 23.

UFC® CHAMPION JOANNA JEDRZEJCZYK AND TOP-CONTENDER CLAUDIA GADELHA COACH LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT AND STRAWWEIGHT HOPEFULS ON THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER®

New season debuts Wednesday, April 20 on FS1

The Ultimate Fighter® will put mixed martial arts’ global dominance on display again as UFC® strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk will coach opposite No. 1 contender Claudia Gadelha. The coaches will lead a group of eight light heavyweights and eight strawweights who will compete for a UFC contract and the title of The Ultimate Fighter.

The Ultimate Fighter®: Team Joanna vs. Team Claudia will kick-off on FS1 on Wednesday, April 20 with a two-hour season premiere airing at 10 p.m. ET as 32 competitors fight for one of 16 slots – eight in each weight class – available to be coached by two of the sport’s best. The season will continue with 11 one-hour shows Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET. The series is the highest rated and most watched original program since the network’s inception in August 2013.

Poland’s first UFC champion, Jedrzejczyk (11-0, fighting out of Olsztyn, Poland) stormed onto the scene in 2014 with her first Octagon® appearance. Since then, she’s gone on to win five straight, won the strawweight title, cemented her place on the top pound-for-pound list and is widely considered as one of the best strikers in the sport. She’ll now lend her expertise to the next generation of athletes who hope to follow in her footsteps and one day wear UFC gold themselves.

Gadelha (13-1, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) trains at the renowned Nova Uniao gym, home to former champions Jose Aldo & Renan Barao. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist hopes to get another crack at current strawweight champion, Jedrzejczyk, who provided Gadelha with the only blemish on her record – a three-round split decision loss in late 2014. Their contrasting styles should provide for an entertaining season between the two teams. The Brazilian’s comfort zone is on the canvas and will provide a stark contrast to the Pole’s highly skilled striking attack brings a completely different skillset to the show.

The series culminates on live on FS1 Friday, July 8 in Las Vegas as part of International Fight Week and will be headlined by Jedrzejczyk and Gadelha in a championship bout for the strawweight world title.

the-ultimate-fighter-23

During the UFC Fight Night 81: Dillashaw vs. Cruz event at the TD Garden in Boston, Mass. on Sunday evening, UFC announced the coaches for the next season of The Ultimate Fighter.

The 23rd season of the regular Ultimate Fighter series, not counting the various international TUF seasons, will be coached for the second time in history by women fighters, as UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk and the number one contender in the division, Claudia Gadelha, will be the opposing coaches for the upcoming season, which will air on FOX Sports 1 (FS1).

Following the live announcement on FOX Sports 1 last night, UFC issued the following press release with all of the important information regarding plans for TUF 23.

UFC® CHAMPION JOANNA JEDRZEJCZYK AND TOP-CONTENDER CLAUDIA GADELHA COACH LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT AND STRAWWEIGHT HOPEFULS ON THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER®

New season debuts Wednesday, April 20 on FS1

The Ultimate Fighter® will put mixed martial arts’ global dominance on display again as UFC® strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk will coach opposite No. 1 contender Claudia Gadelha. The coaches will lead a group of eight light heavyweights and eight strawweights who will compete for a UFC contract and the title of The Ultimate Fighter.

The Ultimate Fighter®: Team Joanna vs. Team Claudia will kick-off on FS1 on Wednesday, April 20 with a two-hour season premiere airing at 10 p.m. ET as 32 competitors fight for one of 16 slots – eight in each weight class – available to be coached by two of the sport’s best. The season will continue with 11 one-hour shows Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET. The series is the highest rated and most watched original program since the network’s inception in August 2013.

Poland’s first UFC champion, Jedrzejczyk (11-0, fighting out of Olsztyn, Poland) stormed onto the scene in 2014 with her first Octagon® appearance. Since then, she’s gone on to win five straight, won the strawweight title, cemented her place on the top pound-for-pound list and is widely considered as one of the best strikers in the sport. She’ll now lend her expertise to the next generation of athletes who hope to follow in her footsteps and one day wear UFC gold themselves.

Gadelha (13-1, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) trains at the renowned Nova Uniao gym, home to former champions Jose Aldo & Renan Barao. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist hopes to get another crack at current strawweight champion, Jedrzejczyk, who provided Gadelha with the only blemish on her record – a three-round split decision loss in late 2014. Their contrasting styles should provide for an entertaining season between the two teams. The Brazilian’s comfort zone is on the canvas and will provide a stark contrast to the Pole’s highly skilled striking attack brings a completely different skillset to the show.

The series culminates on live on FS1 Friday, July 8 in Las Vegas as part of International Fight Week and will be headlined by Jedrzejczyk and Gadelha in a championship bout for the strawweight world title.

Video: New Samsung Commercial Starring Joanna Jedrzejczyk

joanna-samsung

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duHFAM-L9vk

Samsung released a new commercial on Thursday starring UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jędrzejczyk. The commercial will air in Poland, and the YouTube version above has English subtitles. Jędrzejczyk is from Olsztyn, Poland.

Jędrzejczyk won the UFC women’s strawweight championship at UFC 185 in March of 2015, after defeating Carla Esparza by TKO, in what was awarded the “performance of the night.” She has since successfully defended the title against Jessica Penne in June, and Valérie Létourneau in November.

Jędrzejczyk is rumored to be fighting Claudia Gadelha in a rematch later this year, possibly at UFC 200.

Related: Video: New Carl’s Jr. Commercial Featuring UFC Champion Ronda Rousey

joanna-samsung

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duHFAM-L9vk

Samsung released a new commercial on Thursday starring UFC strawweight champion Joanna J?drzejczyk. The commercial will air in Poland, and the YouTube version above has English subtitles. J?drzejczyk is from Olsztyn, Poland.

J?drzejczyk won the UFC women’s strawweight championship at UFC 185 in March of 2015, after defeating Carla Esparza by TKO, in what was awarded the “performance of the night.” She has since successfully defended the title against Jessica Penne in June, and Valérie Létourneau in November.

J?drzejczyk is rumored to be fighting Claudia Gadelha in a rematch later this year, possibly at UFC 200.

Related: Video: New Carl’s Jr. Commercial Featuring UFC Champion Ronda Rousey

Fight Night 69 Highlights/Results: Jedrzejczyk Batters Penne, Kawajiri Smothers Siver, “Mr. Finland” Shines Again + More

(Joanna Champion: The simultaneously most adorable and terrifying woman on the planet, next to Alice from Workaholics.)

Jessica Penne is tough as nails, y’all. Unfortunately for her, Joanna Jedrzejczyk has a bowl of nails for breakfast every morning…without any milk. To describe the women’s strawweight champion as “on point” in her main event scrap over the weekend would be borderline disrespectful — Joanna Champy was Chuck Liddell-esque in her tactical destruction of Penne (Joe), putting the TUF 20 alum’s face through the meat grinder over the course of a third round TKO victory.

While it was evident that Penne was outclassed on the feet from the start and unable to get the fight to the mat thereafter, a credit is due to her for taking everything Jedrzejczyk had to offer and not once backing down. We are often quick to praise a fighter’s heart in scenario’s like the one Penne found herself in, but very rarely do we see someone taking a lickin’ and keep on tickin’ like that. It’s not the highest praise, I know, but Penne will be a staple of this division for a while and have plenty more chances to improve and impress.

Check out Champy’s post-fight interview with Dan Hardy above, then join us after the jump for highlights and a complete list of results from Fight Night 69. 

The post Fight Night 69 Highlights/Results: Jedrzejczyk Batters Penne, Kawajiri Smothers Siver, “Mr. Finland” Shines Again + More appeared first on Cagepotato.


(Joanna Champion: The simultaneously most adorable and terrifying woman on the planet, next to Alice from Workaholics.)

Jessica Penne is tough as nails, y’all. Unfortunately for her, Joanna Jedrzejczyk has a bowl of nails for breakfast every morning…without any milk. To describe the women’s strawweight champion as “on point” in her main event scrap over the weekend would be borderline disrespectful — Joanna Champy was Chuck Liddell-esque in her tactical destruction of Penne (Joe), putting the TUF 20 alum’s face through the meat grinder over the course of a third round TKO victory.

While it was evident that Penne was outclassed on the feet from the start and unable to get the fight to the mat thereafter, a credit is due to her for taking everything Jedrzejczyk had to offer and not once backing down. We are often quick to praise a fighter’s heart in scenario’s like the one Penne found herself in, but very rarely do we see someone taking a lickin’ and keep on tickin’ like that. It’s not the highest praise, I know, but Penne will be a staple of this division for a while and have plenty more chances to improve and impress.

Check out Champy’s post-fight interview with Dan Hardy above, then join us after the jump for highlights and a complete list of results from Fight Night 69. 

In the night’s co-main event, my boy Dennis Siver (aka Denny Seeves) was outmuscled by PRIDE vet Tatsuya Kawajiri en route to a unanimous decision loss, marking his 3rd loss in his past 5 fights overall. Despite some success fending off Kawajiri’s grappling-based attacks in the first round, Siver was simply a step behind “Crusher’s” takedown game in the second and third stanzas. It wasn’t a dominant win for Kawajiri by any means, but enough to earn him his second UFC win in 3 outings.

Elsewhere on the card, Makwan “Mr. Finland” Amirkhani continued his dynamic UFC run, submitting Masio Fullen in less than two minutes and dedicating the performance to his mother in an incredibly touching post-fight interview. There’s no denying that the UFC has found an entertaining, charismatic, and perhaps most importantly, talented guy in Amirkhani, so let’s hope they build him up properly.

Since the UFC hasn’t actually made any highlights from Fight Night 69 available online, we’ve had to resort to other means. But at the risk of compromising our journalistic integrity (LOL!), we’ll keep things brief and this article up by paying tribute to the excellent finishing sequence from the Scott Askham vs. Antônio dos Santos undercard fight. Dat uppercut tho…

The full list of results from Fight Night 69 are below.

Main card (UFC Fight Pass at 3 p.m. ET)
Joanna Jedrzejczyk def. Jessica Penne via TKO (punches) at 4:22 of R3
Tatsuya Kawajiri def. Dennis Siver via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Peter Sobotta def. Steve Kennedy via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:57 of R1
Nick Hein def. Lukasz Sajewski via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Undercard (UFC Fight Pass at 12 p.m. ET)
Makwan Amirkhani def. Masio Fullen via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:41 of R1
Mairbek Taisumov def. Alan Patrick via TKO (head kick and punches) at 1:30 of R2
Arnold Allen def. Alan Omer via submission (guillotine choke) at 1:41 of R3
Noad Lahat def. Niklas Backstrom via majority decision (28-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Scott Askham def. Antonio dos Santos via TKO (strikes) at 2:52 of R1
Magomed Mustafaev def. Piotr Hallman via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) at 3:24 of R2
Taylor Lapilus def. Ulka Sasaki via TKO (punches) at 1:26 of R2

The post Fight Night 69 Highlights/Results: Jedrzejczyk Batters Penne, Kawajiri Smothers Siver, “Mr. Finland” Shines Again + More appeared first on Cagepotato.

The Only Video Worth Seeing Today: Joanna Jedrzejczyk Arrives in Poland to Raucous Reception

In terms of the news cycle, today would be one of those days that we in the MMA writing biz refer to as “two ducks fucking on a rubber pond.” I never quite understood how that phrase applies to anything really, but the point is that it’s something of a dead zone out there. Sure, we could tell you that one of “the world’s most notorious UFC pirate” was finally caught, or that Reza Madadi is once again free to pursue a life of Snatch-like escapades, but you don’t really care about any of that, do you?

So instead of reading up on all that nonsense, why not just check out this video of newly-crowned women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk being greeted by a raucous crowd of media, family, and friends upon arriving home in her native Poland? Joanna might not have received the full fledged mariachi band treatment that Junior Dos Santos did after winning his title, but it’s still pretty sweet to see “The Viper” (our new nickname for her, btw) doing anything but scaring the ever-loving shit out of poor Carla Esparza. Agreed? Agreed.

In terms of the news cycle, today would be one of those days that we in the MMA writing biz refer to as “two ducks fucking on a rubber pond.” I never quite understood how that phrase applies to anything really, but the point is that it’s something of a dead zone out there. Sure, we could tell you that one of “the world’s most notorious UFC pirate” was finally caught, or that Reza Madadi is once again free to pursue a life of Snatch-like escapades, but you don’t really care about any of that, do you?

So instead of reading up on all that nonsense, why not just check out this video of newly-crowned women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk being greeted by a raucous crowd of media, family, and friends upon arriving home in her native Poland? Joanna might not have received the full fledged mariachi band treatment that Junior Dos Santos did after winning his title, but it’s still pretty sweet to see ”The Viper” (our new nickname for her, btw) doing anything but scaring the ever-loving shit out of poor Carla Esparza. Agreed? Agreed.

UFC 185 Aftermath/Results: The King is Dead, Long Live the King


(Photo via Getty)

It seems that more often than not these days, the UFC likes to sell us on the invincibility of its champions. “Anderson Silva is the G.O.A.T.” “Renan Barao is one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters in the UFC right now, if not the greatest.” “Jose Aldo had sex with my blind wife last night and now she can see!” I’m paraphrasing here, but you get the point.

That’s not meant as a knock on the promotion, mind you. I mean, you tell me how else you’re going to market a humble, softly-spoken foreigner who knows maybe a dozen words in English, if not based on his skills in the cage? This is the fight game after all, and Conor McGregor would still be collecting welfare checks if he didn’t possess the actual skill to back up his mouth. Yet time and time again, it seems that the UFC’s go-to strategy for hyping a fighter becomes akin to placing a hex on them. And when/if the champion in question does lose, it isn’t long before the conversation shifts to “Anderson Silva is a roidhead.” “Renan Barao is going to get smoked in the rematch.” “Jose Aldo is only keeping Conor McGregor’s seat warm.”

To be perfectly clear, this isn’t how I feel the UFC was marketing Anthony Pettis heading into his UFC 185 title fight with Rafael Dos Anjos. The promotion was marketing him on his skillset, sure, which again — how could you not when his highlight reel includes a flying off-the-cage ninja kick? I’m saying that this is how the MMA media seemed to be billing Pettis in the weeks leading up to last Saturday. Blame it on the stupidity and/or rampant fanboyism that affects even the unbiased (and more importantly, credentialed) members, blame it on whatever you want, but there was an air of invincibility surrounding Pettis. We were like a deer caught in the headlights of “Showtime’s” greatness, so much so that we barely even took the time to notice that Dos Anjos was there.


(Photo via Getty)

It seems that more often than not these days, the UFC likes to sell us on the invincibility of its champions. “Anderson Silva is the G.O.A.T.” “Renan Barao is one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters in the UFC right now, if not the greatest.” “Jose Aldo had sex with my blind wife last night and now she can see!” I’m paraphrasing here, but you get the point.

That’s not meant as a knock on the promotion, mind you. I mean, you tell me how else you’re going to market a humble, softly-spoken foreigner who knows maybe a dozen words in English, if not based on his skills in the cage? This is the fight game after all, and Conor McGregor would still be collecting welfare checks if he didn’t possess the actual skill to back up his mouth. Yet time and time again, it seems that the UFC’s go-to strategy for hyping a fighter becomes akin to placing a hex on them. And when/if the champion in question does lose, it isn’t long before the conversation shifts to “Anderson Silva is a roidhead.” “Renan Barao is going to get smoked in the rematch.” “Jose Aldo is only keeping Conor McGregor’s seat warm.”

To be perfectly clear, this isn’t how I feel the UFC was marketing Anthony Pettis heading into his UFC 185 title fight with Rafael Dos Anjos. The promotion was marketing him on his skillset, sure, which again — how could you not when his highlight reel includes a flying off-the-cage ninja kick? I’m saying that this is how the MMA media seemed to be billing Pettis in the weeks leading up to last Saturday. Blame it on the stupidity and/or rampant fanboyism that affects even the unbiased (and more importantly, credentialed) members, blame it on whatever you want, but there was an air of invincibility surrounding Pettis. We were like a deer caught in the headlights of “Showtime’s” greatness, so much so that we barely even took the time to notice that Dos Anjos was there.

Again, this is not a dig, but rather an observation. I sure as hell didn’t give Dos Anjos much of a chance despite his insanely impressive credentials in recent years, and was already salivating at the idea of watching Pettis face his first true test as champion in Khabib Nurmagomedov, once the latter beat Donald Cerrone (which now that I think about it, likely just condemned Nurmy to a loss).

The point is, us MMA fans — from the most casual observers right up to the credentialed media members — like to get a few steps ahead of ourselves when it comes to the cream of the crop. We see a couple flashy finishes over legitimate competition and we suddenly start hyping up “superfights” and dream/freak show matches that are light years away from materializing, then devoting countless articles to them as if they’ve been already booked. Do you guys realize that “we’ve” spent the past two weeks talking about the prospect of Ronda Rousey vs. a man and/or Laila Al? (*shudders*)

And the MMA Gods, well, they find our hubris disconcerting. Disturbing even. Which is why every now and again, they throw a Dos Anjos into the gears. “This is what you get,” they bellow from on high, “This is what you get for trying to book Pettis vs. Aldo.”

And that’s exactly what happened last weekend. For five unbelievable, grueling rounds, the guy best known for being on the wrong end of a Jeremy Stephens uppercut in his UFC debut handed a dynamic, unstoppable champion the ass-whooping of a lifetime. To call it shocking would be a woeful undersell. Rafael Dos Anjos torched Anthony Pettis. We were ready to believe that the guy who got wrestlefucked by Clay Guida in 2011 had developed +1000 takedown defense mana in the years since, and oh how we were wrong. Even more bewildering than Dos Anjos’ complete domination in the grappling department was his dismantling of Pettis, a taekwondo master with the dexterity of a Cirque Du Soleil performer, in the striking department, which saw the then-champion’s eye swollen shut by the start of the championship rounds.

Pettis fought his heart out on Saturday, but he still came up short against a guy who started off his UFC career two in the hole. And with his loss, we are once again reminded that no one in the UFC is unbeatable (except for Jon Jones) (and Ronda Rousey). The king is dead, long live the king.

Speaking of unbeatable, time will only tell how long it takes for us to bestow that status on Joanna Jedrzejczyk, who came out like a woman possessed against Carla Esparza. Anyone who had seen the Embedded series knew that the Polish muay-Thai champion had managed to get inside her cookie-loving opponent’s head, but the extent to which she had wasn’t made obvious until Esparza entered the arena. Despite having Metallica’s “Harvester of Sorrow” blaring in the background, Esparza looked like anything but a woman ready for a fight. She looked extremely nervous. Checked out. Dare I say it, scared.

Her nervousness was apparent in every second she was in the fight. Esparza’s “underrated” striking — as it was being billed — was non-existent. Overwhelmed from the get-go by Jedrzejczyk’s prowess on the feet, the TUF 20 winner repeatedly dove in on sloppy and telegraphed single leg attempts with zero setup whatsoever. She was a sitting duck, and Jedrzejczyk wasted no time taking advantage of it. The second round TKO win for Jedrzejczyk capped off a flawless performance, and a credit is also due to referee Don Turnage for the most merciful title fight stoppage since Silva vs. Franklin.

What else did we learn at UFC 185? Well, that Johny Hendricks sure can wrassle, which was already a bit of a given. Struggling to deal with the constant forward attack of Matt Brown early, Hendricks slowed things down with his repeated takedowns and G-n-P, then busted up a tiring Brown on the feet in the latter rounds for good measure. It wasn’t the most exciting performance (and one that Hendricks was highly critical of himself), but the former champ looked well on his way to a trilogy fight with Robbie Lawler.

What else, what else? Oh, Alistair Overeem loves flying knees, and Roy Nelson likes eating flying knees just as much. That Nelson was able to withstand such an onslaught from the K1 champion and keep ticking really tells you something about the power Mark Hunt packs in his hands. With the win, it seems we might just finally get to see Overeem vs. Dos Santos transpire in the near future. Here’s hoping.

And finally, I’d like to pour one out for poor, poor Chris Cariaso. The guy is about as forgettable as they come in terms of both personality and skillset, and has absolutely been mauled in his past two fights. No wonder he was hoping Henry Cejudo missed weight.

Full results for UFC 185 are below.

Rafael dos Anjos def. Anthony Pettis by unanimous decision
Joanna Jedrzejczyk def. Carla Esparza by TKO, round 2
Johny Hendricks def. Matt Brown by unanimous decision
Alistair Overeem def. Roy Nelson by unanimous decision
Henry Cejudo def. Chris Cariaso by unanimous decision

Ross Pearson def. Sam Stout by KO, round 2
Elias Theodorou def. Roger Narvaez by TKO, round 2
Beneil Dariush def. Daron Cruickshank by submission, round 2
Jared Rosholt def. Josh Copeland by TKO, round 3
Ryan Benoit def. Sergio Pettis by TKO, round 2
Joseph Duffy def. Jake Lindsey by TKO, round 1
Germaine de Randamie def. Larissa Pacheco by TKO, round 2