Joanna Jedrzejczyk violently puts strawweight division on notice
Few outside of her own camp would have predicted in advance that Joanna Jedrzejczyk would be capable of stifling Carla Esparza's wrestling and beating the defending champion as dominantly as she did at UFC 185 on Saturday night. After she did, however, it must have sent a chill down the spines of every other UFC strawweight contender.
Despite her striking power, conditioning and overall resilience, it seemed likely that Joanna would not be able to resist the wrestling and grappling ability of Esparza. In fact, it seemed unlikely that anyone at 115 pounds in the UFC would be able to stop the tenacious grappling attack of the "Cookie Monster."
Jedrzejczyk seemed completely prepared to not just make Esparza pay for every takedown attempt with elbows and punches, but also to completely defend most of them as well. The skill and physical conditioning it took for Jedrzejczyk to stop Esparza's relentless takedown attack Saturday night was impressive enough.
Her own offensive onslaught of powerful strike combination made her title-winning effort simply astounding. Everyone already knew that Jedrzejczyk had the best striking in the division.
They just assumed, or at least hoped, that exceptional grappling could be the solution to fighting her. Most women in the 115 pound division right now must be thinking, "If Carla couldn't get and keep Joanna down, what chance do we have?"
After all, conventional wisdom has it that Esparza possesses the best wrestling in the class. She does indeed seem to, but it wasn't enough to control Jedrzejczyk in Dallas.
Now that she's shown the whole world that she's a complete fighter, Jedrzejczyk seems poised to run roughshod over the rest of the division, as long as she can stay healthy.
Rafael dos Anjos' stamina impresses
Rafael dos Anjos's physical conditioning was as impressive as his technical skill and confidence during his upset lightweight title win over Anthony Pettis, at UFC 185. Not only did dos Anjos get in the face of Pettis and pressure him with footwork, strikes, takedowns and ground work from the opening horn, he managed to do so for every minute of every round.
Sure, the guy doing most of the hitting, scoring the takedowns, and working from dominant positions on the ground is going to be a bit less tired than the fighter on the receiving end of all that, but the Brazilian's stamina in keeping a steady, fast and aggressive pace for five title rounds against Pettis was amazing. Dos Anjos' revelation at the post-event press conference that he hasn't been able to train fully for the past three weeks because of a knee injury sustained during training make his physical feat all the more impressive.
Clean livin' pays off for Johny Hendricks
Johny Hendricks looked good -- and fought better -- Saturday night. Finally healthy after a year and a half that included a serious muscle tear, and brutal weight cuts after becoming obese in between fights, Hendricks looked fit and fought dominantly against the world-class Matt Brown at home in Dallas.
Before UFC 185, Hendricks told us that he made serious changes to his training and diet, in hopes of being healthier, not having to carry and then suddenly drop so much extra weight before fights, and then performing better and with more energy during bouts. Even with a quick turnaround since his decision loss to Robbie Lawler last December, Hendricks' new approach seems to already paying off.
Hendricks also told us that he's looking towards the future, and how much he'll improve if he carries this healthy living on for the long run. There's no doubt that he'll be healthier and feel better, if he does, and then also be more ready than ever for his next crack at UFC gold.
