UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Joanna Jędrzejczyk is set to make the first defence of her title on June 20th at UFC Fight Night 69 in Berlin, Germany. The undefeated Jędrzejczyk faces off against former Invicta FC Atomweight Champion Jessica Penne in the 115-pound main event.
UFC officials announced the change today. UFC Fight Night 69 was initially slated to be headlined by a light heavyweight bout between Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson and Glover Teixeira, but Gustafsson withdrew due to an injury. Penne now steps in to challenge Jędrzejczyk for UFC title gold.
Jędrzejczyk (9-0-0) earned a shot at the UFC women’s strawweight title by edging out BJJ black belt Claudia “Claudinha” Gadelha at UFC on FOX 13 in December, and the Polish star made the most of the opportunity with a dominant second-round stoppage victory over former champ Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza to claim the belt at UFC 185 in March. Jędrzejczyk’s impressive and violent win over Esparza sent a message to the rest of the 115-pound women’s division, but she faces a tough test when she puts her new title on the line against the well-rounded Penne next month.
Penne (12-2-0) made history in October 2012 when she became Invicta FC’s first female champion. She captured the promotion’s inaugural 105-pound atomweight title by submitting then-Jewels champ Naho “Sugi Rock” Sugiyama, but suffered an upset loss to recent UFC signee Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson in her first defence. After winning one more bout for Invicta FC, Penne signed with the UFC and advanced to the semi-final round of TUF 20. In her official UFC debut, she outpointed Canadian standout Randa “Quiet Storm” Markos at the TUF 20 Finale.
UFC Fight Night 69: “Jędrzejczyk vs Penne” takes place on June 20th at O2 World in Berlin, Germany. Penne was initially set to face Juliana “Ju Thai” de Lima Carneiro later this month at UFC Fight Night 67 in Brazil, but that fight has now been scrapped.
(Photo Credit: UFC)
Very tough assignment for Penne – in a hostile environment against an overwhelming striker and very confident champion. Penne would have had a good shot at beating Lima in Brazil, even in that difficult environment, but unfortunately I don’t believe she has any practical chance against JJ in Berlin. Given the way Randa Markos was landing flush on Jessica in their December bout, I don’t see her making it out of the first round against Joanna.