Sherdog.com’s 2015 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year

2. Joanna Jedrzejczyk

Though she toiled in the shadow of Ronda Rousey and later Holly Holm, few fighters in MMA did more to raise their stock over the past 12 months than Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s strawweight titleholder Joanna Jedrzejczyk. A relative unknown entering 2015, Jedrzejczyk won three fights, all of them in convincing fashion, and emerged as the top pound-for-pound female fighter in the sport.

Jedrzejczyk’s run began at UFC 185 in March, where she took out Carla Esparza with second-round punches to claim the women’s strawweight championship. Esparza succumbed to an accumulation of blows 4:17 into round two, her five-fight winning streak snapped.

Jedrzejczyk denied all but one of the Team Oyama rep’s takedown attempts, trapping her on the feet. Esparza grew increasingly desperate, as hopelessness and fatigue set in. By the time the second round arrived, she was little more than a sitting duck. Jedrzejczyk fired away with grisly right hands and stinging jabs, slowly wearing down the Californian. With less than a minute remaining in the frame, she backed up Esparza with a right hand and swarmed with a brutal volley for the finish. Esparza, an accomplished wrestler who had never before been stopped by strikes, entered the cage as high as a -185 favorite.

“Like I said before, I was working so hard on my wrestling, but no one believed in me. I’m not a striker anymore; I’m a complete mixed martial artist,” Jedrzejczyk told Fox Sports. “I still cannot believe that I’m the first European-based champion. After every fight, I’m so happy on the inside and the outside, but after this one, I’m more happy on the inside for my parents, for my boyfriend and for my country -- for everyone. I’m going to take my belt back to Europe and show everyone. I’m just so happy.”

The performance under the glare of a co-headlining spotlight exposed Jedrzejczyk’s likeable and charismatic personality to a wider audience.

“I can feel really good in the Octagon. I was born for it, I think. I’m an [easygoing] person, but when I’m in the Octagon, I go crazy,” she said. “I was ready for her takedowns. I’m natural. Just me. I’m funny Joanna from Poland. That’s all.”

Jedrzejczyk was far from done. Three months later, she stepped into the Octagon to defend her title against Jessice Penne in a UFC Fight Night main event in Germany. What followed was a beating for the ages.

Once Jedrzejczyk found a rhythm, there was nothing the American could do. She took over the battle at the midway point of round one and only grew stronger as the fight wore on. Jedrzejczyk scattered strikes from every angle imaginable, mixing in an unhealthy dose of kicks, punches and elbows, busting up Penne’s face in the process. Penne was given a meaty hematoma above her right eye late in the first round, the first of many ills to come her way, and was covered in blood before too long. A wicked elbow from the champion exploded Penne’s nose in round two. The Pole never stopped attacking Penne’s face and body, as she continued to suck the life out of her.

Jedrzejczyk defended all 11 of Penne’s takedown attempts, according to FightMetric data, and refused to enter the challenger’s guard whenever she was tempted to test it. Jedrzejczyk repeatedly forced the Californian to stand, inflicting more and more punishment until referee Marc Goddard finally stopped the mugging 4:22 into round three. “Joanna Champion” was born.

To close out her wildly successful 2015 campaign, Jedrzejczyk traveled to Australia, where she retained her title with a five-round unanimous decision over Valerie Letourneau at UFC 193. All three cageside judges scored it for Jedrzejczyk: 49-46, 49-46 and 50-45.

Letourneau stood her ground and put up a noble fight. The American Top Team standout delivered a first-round takedown, landed her share of punches and was particularly effective with kicks to the body. Nevertheless, Jedrzejczyk’s excellence shone through. The champion slammed a front kick into Letourneau’s face in the first round, turned her hands loose with accurate, rapid-fire punching combinations and tore into the Canadian’s lead leg with one kick after another. Damage accumulated over the course of 25 minutes, and it became increasingly clear that a Letourneau upset was not in the cards. Jedrzejczyk continued to target the leg in the championship rounds, limiting the challenger’s mobility and leaving her vulnerable to the combinations that often followed.

Statistics can often paint a picture of dominance. In Jedrzejczyk’s case, they were staggering. In her three 2015 appearances, she out-landed Esparza, Penne and Letourneau 399-132 in significant strikes, 444-154 in total strikes.

“I became a UFC fighter 15 months ago and became a champion so quickly,” Jedrzejczyk told Fox Sports 1. “Now I’ve defended my title two times. I’m very happy they gave me this chance. I’m so happy.”

Continue Reading » Liam McGeary