UFC Fight Night 69: 5 Fights for Joanna Jedrzejczyk

Joanna Jedrzejczyk put a beating on Jessica Penne during their UFC Fight Pass main event. The way she dominated that bout with her striking is exactly what fight fans like to see. The UFC has an individual who can be pushed into a major star within the sport.

Looking forward, there are a number of great fights available for Jedrzejczyk to continue to build her brand.

Jessica Aguilar

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Jessica Aguilar is finally making her UFC debut at UFC 190.

Jessica Aguilar is the former strawweight champion of World Series of Fighting. At UFC 190, she finally makes her debut for the largest mixed martial arts promotion in the world.

Many outlets, such as Sherdog.com, have Aguilar ranked toward the top of strawweight rankings. While the UFC does not have her listed, she is recognized as one of the best in the division, as she’s defeated Carla Esparza, Megumi Fujii and many others.

If she can get past Claudia Gadelha at UFC 190, setting up a fight between Aguilar and Jedrzejczyk is the right step to make.

Claudia Gadelha

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Claudia Gadelha fought the current champion in a close decision.

At UFC on Fox 13, Claudia Gadelha fought Jedrzejczyk to a very close split decision. In some circles, there were individuals who took the side of the Brazilian and believed she pulled out the win. For example, MMA Decisions chronicles the opinion of media members in close decisions.

For this fight, 12 of the 14 media outlets selected Gadelha as the winner. However, judges Derek Cleary and Chris Flores saw the fight for Jedrzejczyk.

If Gadelha can get past Aguilar at UFC 190, this rematch would be a must-make fight with the potential of setting up an interesting trilogy.  

Paige VanZant

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Paige VanZant is a star in the making for the UFC.

Paige VanZant is quickly becoming a star in mixed martial arts. While she doesn’t have the resume of many other fighters on this list, she does have stronger drawing power at this point. In fact, she’s the only individual in this weight class that has a personalized deal with Reebok, even though she has one of the weakest fighting histories.

Placing VanZant against Jedrzejczyk would be an opportunity for UFC to push one of the biggest stars on their roster.

Rose Namajunas

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Rose Namajunas is another highly-ranked young competitor in the UFC.

Rose Namajunas carries the weakest resume of this group of potential contenders to Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Still, her performance on The Ultimate Fighter has helped her gain a place in the Top Five of the division as the fourth best fighter in the group.

Even though ‘Thug’ is riding a two-fight losing streak against other women in the Top 10, she still has value to the organization at this time. If she was to be booked against the current champion, it would be an opportunity for the UFC to further push Jedrzejczyk to the masses.

Tecia Torres

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Tecia Torres is another fighter that has grown to stardom via The Ultimate Fighter.

Tecia Torres is slowly gaining steam within the women’s strawweight division. Even though her fight against Angela Hill at UFC 188 was not as action-packed as expected, Torres still pulled out the valuable win.

Currently, she is ranked in the No. 5 position, and that slot is close enough to earn a title shot, especially if another contender falls out of an upcoming fight against the champion.