“Thug” Rose Namajunas shocked the mixed martial arts world tonight with a sensational victory at UFC 217: “Bisping vs St. Pierre” in New York City, New York. Namajunas stopped previously unbeaten titleholder Joanna Jędrzejczyk to become the new UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion.

While some had predicted that Namajunas’s best success would come on the ground, it was instead her striking skills and underrated power that propelled her to a quick and dominant win over Jędrzejczyk, who had done her best to antagonise Namajunas with trash talk leading up to the bout.

Namajunas (7-3-0) opened the action tonight with one-twos while avoiding Jędrzejczyk’s (14-1-0) long jabs. The fighters traded punches and Namajunas continued to land with left-right combos. Jędrzejczyk flurried in return and mixed in kicks, but Namajunas countered with a lead left hook that knocked her down. Jędrzejczyk battled back to her feet and she landed a hard combination that backed Namajunas up, but Namajunas recovered and floored Jędrzejczyk with another left hook. She unloaded with ground and pound until the fight was stopped just before a dazed Jędrzejczyk tapped out.

Post-fight, both women were humble, with Namajunas stating that she felt that being a good person was more important than winning the championship that rested on her shoulder. Jędrzejczyk, who spent weeks trying to get into Namajunas’s head with menacing words, appeared at the post-fight press conference to thank her coaches and supporters, and to reiterate that she plans to come back stronger in hopes of regaining her 115-pound title.

Winner: Rose Namajunas by TKO (Punches) at 3:03 of round one. She improves to 7-3-0 and becomes the new UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion.

(Photo Credit: UFC)