UFC 193: Keys to Victory for Joanna Jedrzejczyk

“These years have been so, so frustrating for me because I knew deep inside that I was a great fighter”, added the 8-3 challenger, who began her professional career in March, 2007, and faced future UFC bantamweight standouts (and fellow Canadians) Sarah Kaufman and Alexis Davis in her second and third bouts, respectively. “We can just play there”.

“I never had a doubt in my mind, but it’s been really, really hard for me to wait for my time”.

Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Valerie Letourneau will battle for the belt this Saturday (Nov. 14, 2015) at UFC 193 inside Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. That gave them a bit of a head start on the competition, and when Jedrzejczyk took the title from eventual TUF 20 victor Carla Esparza, she did it with such a statement win that it seemed she was light years ahead of the competition (minus, perhaps, a close split decision win against the aforementioned Gadelha).

Still the 32-year-old Letourneau says her preparations have been ideal and that she feels no more pressure than any other fight. I just took my chance to be more visible.

Letourneau will have to hope her striking defense is at an elite level on Saturday night if she is going to survive the wrath of Jedrzejczyk.

With a massive fight coming up in a matter of days, this is obviously not a topic the French Canadian competitor is comfortable addressing, she said Wednesday (Thursday afternoon in Melbourne).

We can go to the ground from the first seconds of the fight. Of course, that enhanced exposure is due primarily to the rise of Rousey, who is arguably the UFC’s biggest star. The American Top Team product is an active kickboxer with solid cardio, but none of the pop that makes the champion such a devastating force.

“This year is going insane”, she said. She simply picks fighters apart. The former Invicta FC atomweight champ gets a chance to prove where she fits in her new division with a serious scrap againt Torres at UFC 194 in December. The UFC shifted Rousey-Holm to the main event when Lawler was injured. “She nearly knocked out Maryna Moroz in her last fight, so this is what I am waiting for, for a good striker”. She rebounded with a gritty win over Cortney Casey, but it’s hard to get a legitimate read on where “Bad Mofo JoJo” stands in the division right now.

The current champion has six Muay Thai world championships to her name. She rebounded with a nice win over Angela Hill in October, but Namajunas is still very much a work-in-progress who will be even more of a contender in another two or three years once she gets more experience and more time with Trevor Wittman under her belt.

Lawler and Condit are now the main event of UFC 195 on January 2 in Las Vegas.