Women's MMA began in the sport's infancy and started to gain national recognition in the late 2000's because of the popularity of Gina Carano. Then, four years ago, the UFC saw the popularity rising in WMMA because of Ronda Rousey and decided bring women into the fold.
Rousey's popularity soared. She became the UFC women's bantamweight champion, won her first 12 fights, all by stoppage, with 11 ending in the first round to become not only the most dominant champion in UFC history, but one of most dominant of all time.
But there is a new woman on the block, and she's become the baddest female fighter on the planet and close to becoming an all-time great.
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On Saturday night in the co-main event of UFC 211, Joanna Jedrzejczyk put on a clinic to defeat Jessica Andrade by unanimous decision to retain the women's strawweight championship.
The win put the 29-year-old at 14-0, with five consecutive title defenses putting her within one of tying the record for women currently held by Rousey.
“I’m not happy even after a good training session because I know I can do better,” Jedrzejczyk said at the UFC 211 post-fight news conference. “There’s always something to change and do better. So that’s why I’m going to keep on defending this belt. I feel like I stepped on a different level.”
According to stats from MMAJunkie, Jedrzejczyk has outlanded her opponents 971-328 in significant strikes in her past six appearances — unheard for any fighter regardless of gender.
During Rousey's run, beyond her UFC 190 bout against Bethe Corriea, Rousey's opponents were ground specialists with minimal striking ability, which was right up the alley for the 2008 Olympic bronze medalist in judo. If she would stuff a takedown or when the fight was in clinch, Rousey would secure a takedown, lock in the armbar and it was all she wrote.
When it came to facing strikers, you saw the holes in her game and learned that she a one-dimensional fighter. Even in the Corriea fight, she got hit hard and far too often for her liking, which in turn set up the knockout loss to Holly Holm at UFC 193 back in November 2015 and to current women's 135-pound champion Amanda Nunes at UFC 207 last December.
Jedrzejczyk's never had that problem in her run. The native of Olsztyn, Poland, has faced every type of fighter inside the octagon, hasn't blinked and has rarely been tested. Her eight wins are the most for any woman in UFC history.
“It was like surgery in there,” UFC president Dana White told Fox Sports 1 after UFC 211. “I mean ... her standup is unbelievable. She completely picked her apart. Leg kicks, head kicks, the jab, the hands, unbelievable movement. She fought a perfect fight.”
It is unlikely for Jedrzejczyk to match the worldwide appeal of Rousey, who has gone on to star in movies and make appearances on television shows.
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But that won't stop Jedrzejczyk from trying, as she moved her training from Poland to the United States at one of the premier gyms in the world, American Top Team in Florida. And recently, she switched management teams. She's now represented by Paradigm Sports Management, which represents UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor and helps her get noticed more from the media.
“That’s why I moved to the U.S., that’s why I moved to ATT because I want to build my brand in the U.S.,” Jedrzejczyk said. “MMA in Poland is very big, but there are other organizations. The UFC is going to be for the second time in Poland this year. People know a lot about my MMA, but I feel like I’m an international champion. The UFC is simply the best organization in the world, and most of the shows are here in the United States.
“I feel like I need to be here [to] build my brand. I just signed with new management, I met a few agents and I want to put on more outside the gym, outside the Octagon. But the most important thing is to work hard and to keep defending the belt.”
Jedrzejczyk has the right mindset and focus. She has the right people around her. If she does indeed make one more successful title defense at 115 pounds and then makes the rumored leap to 125 pounds and captures the newly added flyweight championship, it's hard to deny who the greatest fighter in the history of women's mixed martial arts will be.
Steven Muehlhausen is an MMA and Boxing writer and contributor for Sporting News. You can find his podcast, "The Fight Club Chicago," and subscribe on iTunes. You can email him at [email protected] and can find him on Twitter @SMuehlhausenMMA.
