Polish standout Joanna Jędrzejczyk made a successful UFC strawweight debut with an impressive decision win tonight at UFC on FOX 12: “Lawler vs Brown” in San Jose, California. Jędrzejczyk outpointed fellow striker Juliana “Ju Thai” de Lima Carneiro in the UFC’s second 115-pound female fight.
Jędrzejczyk showcased her elite striking skills in her UFC debut tonight and she repeatedly scored with overhand rights that kept Lima on the defensive. Jędrzejczyk’s defence against Lima’s takedowns and submission attempts was also on point and she cruised to a well-deserved decision victory.
Jędrzejczyk (7-0-0) was taken down very briefly in the early stages of round one, but she quickly rose back to her feet and landed two hard right hands that forced Lima (6-2-0) to close the distance and clinch again. Jędrzejczyk defended well against the cage and the fighters were eventually separated. Jędrzejczyk picked up the pace and she landed some nice left and right hooks in the final minute.
The second round also belonged to Jędrzejczyk, who mixed up her strikes with overhand rights and lead left hooks to the body. Lima was unable to block many of the shots in time and Jędrzejczyk landed body kicks and knees as the round progressed. When Lima clinched, Jędrzejczyk countered with an elbow over the top and the fighters were separated once more. Jędrzejczyk stuffed another takedown and she landed a front kick to the face and more punches before the bell.
Though she was clearly up on the scorecards, Jędrzejczyk remained aggressive with her strikes in round three and she landed more overhand rights. Lima secured a body-lock takedown into side control and she tried to transition to a top-side guillotine choke, but Jędrzejczyk escaped and stood up. She landed short knees as the final round came to a close and the bout went to the scorecards.
One judge scored the fight 29-28 for Jędrzejczyk and the remaining two both had it 30-27 in favour of the Polish rising star, who remains unbeaten in her flourishing mixed martial arts career. Jędrzejczyk received considerable praise from UFC President Dana White for her performance tonight and she may next face undefeated BJJ black belt Claudia “Claudinha” Gadelha in a number one contender’s bout. Lima, who missed weight for the strawweight bout, has dropped two of her past three fights.
Winner: Joanna Jędrzejczyk by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. She improves to 7-0-0.