Joanna Jedrzejczyk maintained her perfect record at UFC 211 on Saturday in Dallas, putting on a master class against No. 3 ranked strawweight Jessica Andrade.
Jedrzejczyk immediately set a high pace, using her jab and quick low kicks to keep the distance and pick at Andrade. Andrade tried to swarm her with power punches on a few occasions, but missed with most of them, save for a shot that left a large welt across Jedrzejczyk’s forehead.
Andrade was successful on a couple of takedown attempts in the opening frame, but was unable to do much follow-up damage, as Jedrzejczyk was adept out getting out of trouble and landing shots as she returned to her feet.
The formula remained much the same for the remainder of the fight, which went all five rounds.
For all of those rounds, Jedrzejczyk picked Andrade apart with a stinging jab and quick low kicks that left her lead leg bruised and swollen.
Andrade had moments where she would connect with a solid power shot, but she was never able to hurt Jedrzejczyk enough that she could capitalize. Instead, Jedrzejczyk was quick to dart out of harm’s way and then immediately continued her attacks, and she only became more effective as the fight wore on.
Andrade continued to pursue takedowns in the later rounds, but Jedrzejczyk stuffed nearly all of them. When she did hit the canvas, she was almost instantly back to her feet, peppering Andrade with shots.
Knowing she was way behind on the scorecards, Andrade desperately chased Jedrzejczyk in the final round. Knowing she was well ahead on the scorecards, Jedrzejczyk made her chase.
In the final minutes of the fight, the champion started to throw a few more power shots, even though Andrade never slowed down. It was a masterful performance by a master tactician, as Jedrzejczyk made it a route for her fifth consecutive title defense.
“There is only one strawweight champion of the world and it is me, Joanna Jedrzejczyk from Poland. No one is taking this belt from me. No one,” Jedrzejczyk said.
“We’re making history.”
