Joanna Jedrzejczyk looked to move one step closer to solidifying herself as the greatest female fighter of all-time Saturday night at UFC 217, instead Rose Namajunas shocked the world.
Jedrzejczyk already held the UFC Strawweight title defense record, but with her victory over title challenger #4 Rose Namajunas would have put her in company with Ronda Rousey for most successful UFC title defenses among females. All was for naught, as Rose Namajunas scored one of the biggest UFC upsets in championship history by knocking out the dominant champion.
You can see an excerpt of our Fightful.com live coverage below.
Round One: The round begins with Namajunas attacking Jedrzejczyk with leg kicks, Namajunas then attacks Jedrzejczyk with a two punch combination. Jedrzejczyk starts swinging away against Namajunas as well, Jedrzejczyk starts attacking Namajunas with kicks as well. Namajunas drops Jedrzejczyk with a right and she gets top position on the ground, Jedrzejczyk wall walks to her feet as Namajunas swings away at her. Jedrzejczyk catches a swinging Namajunas with a counter strike combo, Namajunas charges forward and she nails Jedrzejczyk with a right. Namajunas drops Jedrzejczyk with a left hook and she pounces on her with strikes until the referee jumps in.
Official Result: #4 Rose Namajunas def. Joanna Jedrzejczyk by knockout via strikes (3:03, R1) to win the UFC Women’s Strawweight Title
Namajunas had competed for the inaugural UFC Strawweight Championship, but was downed by Carla Esparza under three years ago. The UFC 217 victory served as Namajunas' first career knockout.
After her monumental victory, Namajunas had a simple message -- "This belt don't mean nothing. Be good to each other."
You can see our Fightful.com UFC 217 post-show podcast at this link.
