Joanna Jedrzejczyk defeats Claudia Gadelha again to keep UFC title
Another outstanding fight, another close decision.
Again, it was Joanna Jedrzejczyk earning the favor of the three judges to win a unanimous decision over Claudia Gadelha and retain the UFC women’s strawweight belt in the main event of “The Ultimate Fighter” 23 finale card Friday night at the MGM Grand Garden.
Jedrzejczyk first earned her title shot by defeating Gadelha in a December 2014 decision that has been debated ever since and sparked a rivalry between the two that was on display as rival coaches on the reality show this season.
“It was a great fight. Like I said after our first fight, she’s (the No. 1 contender) and I’m the champion,” said Jedrzejczyk, who apologized for the bad blood after the rivals hugged. “I have so much respect as a fighter.”
Gadelha tried to avenge the loss by coming out with an incredible pace that enabled her to control the first two rounds and strong shots in the clinch, but she couldn’t maintain it.
Jedrzejczyk took over early in the third round, and Gadelha had no answer for her crisp and active striking. Two judges awarded her the fight 48-46, with the other scoring it 48-45.
The card also featured the season title bouts for both of the tournaments on Season 23 of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
Andrew Sanchez didn’t do much to win over the fans, but did plenty to claim the light heavyweight title by taking down Las Vegan Khalil Rountree six times and keeping him on the mat for long stretches on the way to a unanimous decision.
“That guy hits hard. He’s a little green, but the guy’s a monster,” Sanchez said to a disapproving crowd. “I’m going to take the path of least resistance. The guy’s a striker, so I’m going to outgrapple him. If it was the other way around, it would be vice-versa. I did my job, fought a smart fight and secured the victory.”
Cancer survivor Tatiana Suarez remained undefeated as a professional by submitting Amanda Cooper with a d’arce choke in the first round to win the women’s strawweight title.
Former Bellator MMA lightweight champion Will Brooks was successful in his UFC debut, winning a unanimous decision over Ross Pearson.
Brooks, who signed a free-agent deal last month, has won nine straight fights.
Featherweight Doo Ho Choi and lightweight Joaquim Silva got the main card off to a fast start with two consecutive first-round knockouts.
Choi followed up Silva’s 34-second knockout of Andrew Holbrook with a 2:42 stoppage of Thiago Tavares. Choi has 13 straight wins and has knocked out all three of his UFC opponents in the first round.
Las Vegans Gray Maynard and Kevin Lee highlighted the preliminary card with victories.
Maynard, a former lightweight title challenger making his featherweight debut, snapped a four-fight losing streak with a unanimous decision over Fernando Bruno.
Lee, who trains with Maynard at Xtreme Couture, knocked out Jake Matthews in the first round for his sixth win in his past seven fights.
Chinese welterweight Li Jingliang, who came to Las Vegas to train at Xtreme Couture for this camp, needed 2:46 to knock out Anton Zafir.
Another Las Vegan, Syndicate MMA’s Cory Hendricks, dropped a majority draw to Josh Stansbury in a light heavyweight bout.
Middleweight Cezar Ferreira won a unanimous decision over Anthony Smith, and Matheus Nicolau defeated former flyweight title challenger John Moraga by split decision.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj
