UFC Fight Night 69: Jedrzejczyk vs. Penne Date: June 20, 2015 Location: Berlin, Germany Venue: O2 World Broadcast: Fight Pass UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk The champion of the UFC women’s strawweight division, Joanna Jedrzejczyk (9-0) is easily the most devastating striker in the division and one of the most technical muay Thai fighters in the UFC. The 27-year-old native of Poland has knockout power at 115lbs, as evidenced by her brutal KO of Rosi Sexton in Cage Warriors, her finish of Carla Esparza at UFC 185, and her knockdown of Claudia Gadelha at UFC on FOX 13. Along with her vicious striking she has shown exceptional takedown defence and if she can keep her fights on the feet it will be very difficult for anyone in the division to beat her. She defeated Esparza to win the belt, and with a win over Jessica Penne at UFC Fight Night 69, she will continue to move towards the No. 2 spot in the women’s pound-for-pound ranks behind Ronda Rousey — yes, she is that good. UFC Women’s Strawweight Contender Jessica Penne The former Invicta atomweight champion, Jessica Penne (12-2) came to the UFC as part of the TUF 20 cast, and while she not win the show, she proved during her time in the house that she is one of the top strawweights in the sport. A former Bellator product, Penne is known for her wicked submission grappling game that has seen her win seven fights by submission. She doesn’t have great striking, but she has really good wrestling and her submission game is one of the best in the division. After defeating Randa Markos at the TUF 20 Finale, Penne was set to face Juliana Lima at UFC Fight Night 67 but was removed from that fight to take on Joanna Jedrzejczyk, and the pair will duke it out for the UFC women’s strawweight title in the main event of UFC Fight Night 69. Opening Fight Night 69 Analysis: MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas made Jedrzejczyk a -855 favorite (bet $855 to win $100) while Penne opened as a +485 underdog (bet $100 to win $485) at Several Bookmakers. After seeing Jedrzejczyk run through Esparza en route to winning the title, it’s hard to not like her here against Penne. While Penne is a solid submission grappler, we know that Jedrzejczk has fantastic takedown defence and on the feet she has no peer in the division. If Penne cannot get takedowns here, she has no chance of winning this fight as Jedrzejczyk is just too dominant on the feet. Penne is a veteran of the sport and is tough enough to drag this fight into the later rounds, but Jedrzejczk is firing on all cylinders right now and it’s hard to imagine she loses this fight, hence the high line on her.
