Jędrzejczyk breaks hand defending UFC title

Until the moment the scales read 115, you can bet most of the MMA world will be crossing its fingers with her.

Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium has been transformed from a 56,000-seat Australian rules football venue to an auditorium holding close to 75,000 seats for the event and a full house would easily eclipse the 55,724 fans who attended UFC 129 at Toronto’s Rogers Centre in 2011. Letourneau has won all three of her previous bouts in the UFC, kost notably defeating Maryna Moroz at UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Oliveira.

Letourneau has one daughter, 12-year-old Gabrielle. “I can see right through it”.

“I wish it could have happened when I was younger, so I had more years to enjoy it”, Letourneau told The Province prior to departing for Australia. He’s taking a different approach to his fight with Ryan Bader, saying this week he wants to ‘take his soul’. So when I step into the octagon, to me its business.

“I just wanted to take it easy”, Jedrzejczyk said. While he isn’t a guy that is going to make a run at the welterweight title, this version of Noke could be a fun addition to the middle of the division for the next couple years.

At the age of 12 you are usually into hanging out with your friends.

On fighting whenever she’s asked: “I’m ready – anytime, anywhere, I’ll fight for the UFC”.

The UFC 193 main card also features a straw-weight title bout between Poland’s Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Canadian Valerie Letourneau, as well as men’s heavyweights Mark Hunt and Antonio Silva, and middleweights Uriah Hall and Robert Whittaker. She starts showing pictures of me (laughs). I just feel awesome. She grew up at TriStar.

“You know what? Gadelha is talking too much!”

It is a balancing act in terms of being a single parent. As I mentioned above, Jedzejczyk landed more damaging shots, but Letourneau surprised most fans with her big shots as well.

In the third, Jedrzejczyk buried a hard right kick to Letourneau’s chest, briefly hurting the challenger. I’m learning every day. “I expected a long fight, five rounds”. I’m a professional athlete, I’m in shape all the time and trying to be the best.

Facing someone the calibur of Jedrzejczyk is something the 16-year combat sport veteran has never experienced.

Regardless of where Matthews goes from here, this was a great comeback performance for the youngster and if he eventually ascends the lightweight ranks as many have forecasted he’ll do in the future, this will be the fight we look back at as one of the pivotal wins of his career. Very quick hands, feet and always going for the kill. She became an under-the-radar contender in the UFC’s newest division.

In any case, on a night of showcase fights that didn’t work out as planned for anyone, Jedrzejczyk had little chance to steal the spotlight.