Watch Joanna cook Penne at UFC Berlin

Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

Joanna Jedrzejczyk’s first defense as strawweight champion was a notably one-sided display of technical brilliance. She took on top contender Jessica Penne just three months after wresting the belt away from Carla Esparza. For the first time in her young MMA career, Joanna’s kicking game was on full display, as she opened up an arsenal of leg and head kicks to compliment her volume boxing and brutal clinch striking.

Penne, to her credit, delivered a gutsy performance. Jumping on submission opportunities whenever they presented themselves, hanging in the pocket, and trying to gain advantages out of the clinch whenever she could. None of these things happened often. That doesn’t make this fight any less of a treat to watch, however, if for nothing else than the great technique on display by one of the best technical strikers in MMA right now.

Joanna Jedrzejczyk is currently gearing up to fight Valerie Letourneau at UFC 193 on November 15th in Melbourne, Australia. She’ll be co-maining under Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm, for the women’s bantamweight title. Check out Jedrzejczyk’s latest title fight and get a little more hyped for her return to action, just one month away.

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About the author

Zane Simon

Zane Simon is a senior editor, writer, and podcaster for Bloody Elbow. He has worked with the website since 2013, taking on a wide variety of roles. A lifelong combat sports fan, Zane has trained off & on in both boxing and Muay Thai. He currently hosts the long-running MMA Vivisection podcast, which he took over from Nate Wilcox & Dallas Winston in 2015, as well as the 6th Round podcast, started in 2014. Zane is also responsible for developing and maintaining the ‘List of current UFC fighters’ on Bloody Elbow, a resource he originally developed for Wikipedia in 2010.