Women’s Strawweight
Jedrzejczyk reinforced her dominance over the 115-pound women’s division at UFC 205, where she dominated Karolina Kowalkiewicz and handed her Polish countrywomen her first pro loss. Now more than ever, Jedrzejczyk is lording over her division and simply waiting for a viable strawweight challenger to emerge to challenge her throne.
There was little question about whether Gadelha deserved to win her Nov. 19 bout with Cortney Casey in Sao Paulo, Brazil, as the Brazilian dominated from bell to bell. However, the fight sparked controversy nonetheless due to Gadelha not being penalized for an illegal kick to Casey’s head while she was downed. That was followed by the Brazilian commission publicly criticizing Casey in a sad mess of a situation.
Looking at avenge a March 2012 amateur loss, Kowalkiewicz was game against Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 205 but could not catch up to the champion’s striking pace and output. The 31-year-old Kowalkiewicz still boasts a 10-1 pro mark and is clearly one of the world’s best strawweights, but even if she secures a rematch with Jedrzejczyk down the line, she figures to be a considerable underdog after a clear unanimous decision loss.
Returning from a 13-month layoff brought about by shoulder surgery, Esparza got back in the swing of things with a dull but dominant decision win against Brazilian Juliana Lima at UFC 197 on April 23. It was the first bout for “Cookie Monster” since dropping her UFC strawweight title to Joanna Jedrzejczyk in March 2015.
Namajunas entered the UFC 201 co-main event with Karolina Kowalkiewicz as a healthy favorite. A win would have earned her a second crack at UFC strawweight gold, likely lining up a showdown with 115-pound queen Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Instead, despite a fast start from Namajunas, the crafty clinch work of Kowalkiewicz earned her a split decision win and highlighted some of the wrinkles the still-developing 24-year-old has to iron out of her game.
Four months after putting on the most dominant performance of her young career, Torres came up short in an April 16 rematch against fellow “Ultimate Fighter” alum Rose Namajunas. The decision defeat put the first official blemish on Torres’ record, though “The Tiny Tornado” suffered exhibition losses to Carla Esparza and Randa Markos during her time on the reality series.
Andrade was a competitive UFC bantamweight, but since she dropped 20 pounds to move to the 115-pound division, the Brazilian has looked unstoppable. After savaging former UFC title contender Jessica Penne in June, Andrade made short work of divisional standout Joanne Calderwood at UFC 203, where she dropped a guillotine choke on the Scotswoman in the first round and established herself as a major threat in the strawweight division. She will be back in action at UFC 207 on Dec. 30, as she welcomes the returning Angela Hill back to the Octagon.
Moroz was lined up for a fight with unbeaten Justine Kish at the UFC Fight Night card in Salt Lake City on Aug. 6, but an injury to Kish resulted in Moroz facing newcomer Danielle Taylor on short notice. Moroz won a split decision over the little-known Taylor, but the 15-minute fight was difficult to watch, with both women mostly swinging at air in a bout that never really got going.
In the first defense of her Invicta Fighting Championships strawweight crown, Hill had little trouble outpointing the tough-but-outmatched Kaline Medeiros over 25 minutes to earn a decision. After her fourth straight win, “Overkill” continues to flesh out her MMA game and grow impressively from fight to fight. Hill will return to the Octagon at UFC 207 on Dec. 30, when she meets the fast-rising Jessica Andrade.
At Invicta Fighting Championships 17 in May, Souza lost her 115-pound title to the rapidly improving Angela Hill via split decision. The 25-year-old Brazilian prospect has laid low since her first career defeat, but Souza’s skill and already impressive record install her as one of the strawweight division’s finest fighters.
Other Contenders: Joanne Calderwood, Cortney Casey, Alexa Grasso, Juliana Lima, Viviane Pereira