Joanna Jedrzejczyk: the Queen of Muay Thai fighting for the UFC
Joanna Jedrzejczyk, also known as Joanna Champion, is one of the very few fighters with pure Muay Thai background who achieved great success in the UFC.
Don't get me wrong: most of the UFC fighters implement Thai kickboxing techniques into their game. What I meant is that she combines traditional Muay Thai stand-up striking skills with good takedown defense.
And she does that effectively.
Joanna Champion's fighter profile:
She is a multiple Muay Thai champion and she is also a UFC strawweight champion.
She manages to combine a spectacular stand-up striking with an effective submission defense.
A lot of fighters that are good at striking are not very capable when it comes to groundwork. Joanna seems to take the smart approach by choosing where she wants to fight.
She devastates her opponents with a diverse combination of powerful strikes while not letting herself to get stuck on the ground simultaneously.
Most of her bouts are very spectacular and just a pleasure to watch. She is a natural-born fighter.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk's greatest UFC fights:
A clash between Joanna Champion and Jessica Penne was probably the bloodiest fight in the history of a women MMA division. Penne was just too slow and too passive for Joanna, and her poor attempts for a takedown were telegraphed.
He has received countless punches and powerful elbow strikes to the head.
This resulted in her being totally butchered by Joanna and her face looked like a bloody mess after the fight:
Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs Jessica Andrade
A fight between Jedrzejczyk and Andrade was like a battle between a slower-moving, but very durable, tank and a fast-moving tank destroyer.
Andrade didn't slow down until the end of the fight despite her being kicked and punched by Joanna. But her sheer will to just move forward was not enough cause she didn't have an effective game plan.
Joanna has controlled the pace of the whole fight with her superior striking. And she has also stopped all of Andrade's takedown attempts.
Joanna Champion vs Karolina Kowalkiewicz:
That fight was a great clash between two highly talented Muay Thai fighters. Both of them are very technical strikers, and it also wasn't their first fight in the MMA formula.
The Princess of Muay Thai wanted to prove herself against her more accomplished opponent.
At one point, Karolina had a good chance at winning when she caught Joanna with a heavy right hook. But all in all, Jedrzejczyk controlled most of the fight and won by a unanimous decision.
Many great stand-up fighters struggle to face wrestlers and Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighters in the cage.
This doesn't seem to be the case with Joanna Champion.
They say that you are not a champion unless you defend your belt at least once. Joanna did this in a very good style and she has sent a very loud message to her future contenders.
JJ is definitely one of the most exciting UFC fighters around and her Muay Thai skills make her the most powerful striker in the whole UFC women's division.
Also, read about other influential Muay Thai fighters and Kickboxers:
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