The Ultimate Fighter Finale: Jedrzejczyk vs. Gadelha
The fights come thick and fast in the busiest week on the calendar of mixed martial arts, with this card being the middle installment of the UFC’s three night bonanza. The headline being for the UFC Strawweight Women’s Championship between the champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk and the Brazilian challenger Claudia Gadhelha.
Joanna has risen to the top of the women’s mma circuit in a little under four years, having made her debut in 2012. Prior to that, Joanna was a dominant striker with multiple world titles in both kickboxing and Muay Thai, which was evident as within two years she had fired her way to six consecutive wins, the last of which came over veteran Rosi Sexton at Cage Warriors 69 and earned her a place in the UFC. Joanna beat both Juliana Lima, and her next opponent in her first two promotional bouts to earn a quick shot at the title. A fight against the tough wrestling style of Carla Esparza was expected to be too much for Joanna, but she completely outclassed Esparza and butchered her on the feet to claim to be the division's best. Two more impressive performances later in two title defenses and Joanna’s improvements are clear to see, and she looks ever more impressive with each fight.
Gadelha came to mma with a decorated jiu-jitsu career behind her. A victory over Valerie Letourneau in her Invicta FC debut, and another win over Amaya Hamasaki gave the UFC call to Gadelha. Gadelha defeated Tina Lähdemäki in the first ever strawweight bout inside the UFC’s Octagon. The aforementioned loss to Jedrzejczyk followed that before a win over Jessica Aguilar, who was long considered the best strawweight in the world, earned her a rematch against the Polish lady.
While their first fight was a hotly disputed decision with many seeing it either way, I called it for Joanna, 2 rounds to 1. The opening round was very much against the cage with Gadelha showing some success, however Joanna landed a huge uppercut which floored her counterpart and was just short of finishing Gadelha who managed to hold on til the bell. This gave Joanna the round. Round 2 was Joanna dominating with strikes, especially punishing the body, from the outside for more than four and a half minutes to give her the second round also. Gadelha was able to get Joanna down again and maintain strong position in the last but it was not enough as she lost the decision 2-1.
This fight will most likely be similar to the first. With it going to be five rounds I see it giving Joanna more time to use her punishing strikes, combined with much much improved takedown and clinch defense, she will be able to put a beating on for most of the rounds, culminating in a late stoppage. Don’t be surprised to see Gadelha have some pockets of success similar to the third round of their first bout but I don’t see it being enough to lay claim to victory.
The next biggest fight on this card is the UFC debut of the recent Bellator Lightweight Champion, Will Brooks. Brooks used his free agency to finally enter the top tier promotion, even if it meant vacating his belt and a huge decrease in salary. This shows a desire to be the best and not just a well paid pro. Brooks has some good boxing combined with some old fashioned American wrestling and huge ground and pound which has been extremely effective throughout his career of a strong 19-1 record with two wins over Michael Chandler.
He faces TUF season 9 winner Ross Pearson. While unranked, Pearson is no mug and will provide a decent threat to Brooks. Most would have expected a top 15 or top 10 fighter for Brooks on debut but it seems he will be given the slow burner. Pearson has good striking and good takedown defense and can cause a tough battle for anyone. Pearson has been up and down in the UFC with a collection of good wins and some tough losses, but has built a career on being in fun and fan friendly fights. I see this as a way for Brooks to get a win over Pearson while being in an entertaining fight. Pearson is tough and I expect him to be competitive with his jab and body kicks, but will lose the decision to the stringer Brooks.
Another fight to watch is the prospect Doo Ho Choi who is on a seven fight KO streak and expect another top performance from the South Korean as he takes on Thiago Tavares. I expect another KO for the Korean as he climbs the featherweight ranks.
Fight Picks :
Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Cláudia Gadelha – Jedrzejcyk
Ross Pearson vs. Will Brooks – Brooks
Doo Ho Choi vs. Thiago Tavares – Choi steals the show again with a KO
Joaquim Silva vs. Andrew Holbrook – Silva
Gray Maynard vs. Fernando Bruno – Maynard
John Moraga vs. Matheus Nicolau – Moraga
Cezar Ferreira vs. Anthony Smith – Ferreira
Jake Matthews vs. Kevin Lee – Matthews
Li Jingliang vs. Anton Zafir – Jingliang
Also hosts the two finals of the TUF season 23.
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