Former Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s strawweight titleholder Joanna Jedrzejczyk will return to the Octagon at UFC on Fox 30 this Saturday in Calgary, Alberta, as she takes on Tecia Tores in her first non-title bout since December 2014. Their encounter offers an intriguing stylistic matchup, with the winner staying in title contention and the loser going back to Square One.
‘Joanna Champion’ Revenge Tour 2018
After destroying Jessica Andrade at UFC 211, Jedrzejczyk looked like the greatest female fighter to ever grace the Octagon. She had decimated everyone in her path and had not even had a close fight in five years. Just six months later, Rose Namajunas shocked the world, meticulously exploited Jedrzejczyk’s weaknesses and came up with the perfect game plan to dethrone the strawweight queen. Then the rematch came: “Joanna Champion” was again the favorite, but she changed nothing about her approach and was slowly picked apart for five rounds. Jedrzejczyk now finds herself on a two-fight losing streak.
What brought Jedrzejczyk to the dance was her incredible muay Thai skills and relentless pressure against the cage, along with the highest takedown defense percentage in the division. She is at her best when opponents are willing to stand in the pocket and trade, allowing her to set the pace, back them to the cage and pick them apart with her varied combos.
When Jedrzejczyk is allowed to strike at the range and set the pace of the fight, she is almost unstoppable. Few in women’s MMA history have had her striking experience, and nobody in the UFC today can beat her at her own game. With Namajunas, feints and in-and-out movement proved to be her kryptonite, as they did not allow Jedrzejczyk to set the pace. Despite being a heavy feinter herself, “Joanna Champion” will bite on feints and traps too easily -- the main cause of her demise against Namajunas.
Many believed a good grappler would be what it took to dethrone Jedrzejczyk, but she answered those opinions by defending 23 of 27 takedowns from two of the best grapplers in the division: Andrade and Claudia Gadelha. “Joanna Champion” is yet more proof that all elite strikers need is takedown defense to hold their own in MMA.
Taekwondo Tornado
Torres is a lifelong martial artist who started with taekwondo at just 3 years old, received her black belt at 12 and now holds the rank of black belt in karate and blue belt in jiu-jitsu. She is known for her striking but has developed her grappling over the years and is quickly becoming one of the most well-rounded fighters in the division.
Torres is known for her aggressive blitzes, but most of her leading attacks come off counters. She takes on the make-you-miss-make-you-pay tactic and will blitz forward with a combination every time her opponent misses a strike or throws something lazy. Countering with combos is so effective because your opponents are most likely off-balance and out of position after throwing or missing a strike, which makes them vulnerable to return fire. When Torres blitzes forward, it keeps her opponents out of position to defend, making it easier for her to land her punches. Torres generally will not go for retreating or intercepting counters but will land the occasional back-skipping right straight.
Torres only has one finish in her entire career -- she submitted Juliana Lima at “The Ultimate Fighter 25” Finale -- but has decent power. She dropped Namajunas with a left hook from the Thai clinch and actually holds a win over “Thug Rose” in Invicta Fighting Championships back in 2013. Torres has the experience and skills of an elite striker, but due to her height, she generally relies on making the fight dirty by pressuring opponents to the cage and beating them up in the clinch. This takes away the opponent’s height and reach advantage and is something she should look for early and often against the rangy Jedrzejczyk.
Although not known for her grappling, Torres will rely on her top game when she cannot get the job done on the feet. Jedrzejczyk has defended takedowns from better grapplers, so few expect Torres to get her to the ground. With that said, she has the requisite skills in her back pocket if the standup exchanges go awry.