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Carla Esparza vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk set as co-main event for UFC 185

Published Jan. 14, 2015 8:41 p.m. ET

Damon Martin

UFC 185 continues to grow with a new co-main event now confirmed for the upcoming card in Dallas as women's strawweight champion Carla Esparza will make the first defense of her title against top contender Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

UFC officials confirmed the title fight on Wednesday.

Esparza vs. Jedrzejczyk joins the card as the second title fight in addition to the main event pitting lightweight champion Anthony Pettis against Rafael dos Anjos.

Esparza (10-2) will return to action for the first time since winning the most recent season of The Ultimate Fighter, which ended with her claiming the women's strawweight title with a victory over Rose Namajunas back in December.

Coming onto the reality show, Esparza was already rated as the top fighter in the world at 115-pounds, but now she has the UFC gold to compliment her ranking.

Jedrzejczyk (8-0) will fight for the UFC title in her third bout overall after defeating Juliana Lima in her debut before taking out highly touted Brazilian Claudia Gadelha in her last fight at FOX UFC Fight Night: dos Santos vs. Miocic.

The Polish kickboxer was expected to earn the next title shot with a win over Gadelha and now she'll get her chance against Esparza in Dallas.

The double title fight led show will also feature a welterweight showdown between former champion Johny Hendricks and top 10 ranked fighter Matt Brown in a featured bout on the main card.

UFC 185 goes down on March 14 from the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas.

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