Rose Namajunas shocks the world with first round knockout against Joanna Jedrzejczyk
Rose Namajunas was calm, cool and collected all week long as Joanna Jedrzejczyk was in her face and threatening to take her soul on Saturday night at UFC 217
Now it might be time to call Namajunas the quiet killer as she silenced Jedrzejczyk with a stunning first round knockout to become the new UFC women’s strawweight champion.
Heading into the card, Namajunas was one of the biggest underdogs while facing the incumbent champion as Jedrzejczyk was looking to tie Ronda Rousey’s record for the most title defenses in the history of the women’s divisions in the UFC.
None of that seemed to bother Namajunas as she stayed stoic in every interaction with Jedrzejczyk leading up to their fight and then she unleashed hell once they stepped into the Octagon together.
The tide of the fight changed early in the opening round as Jedrzejczyk tried to establish her typical striking dominance but Namajunas clipped her with a right hand that dropped her to the mat.
JOANNA GETS DROPPED IN ROUND 1 BY @RoseNamajunas!!!! #UFC217 pic.twitter.com/LbZ5f4Niqj
— UFC (@ufc) November 5, 2017
It was a flash knockdown as Jedzejczyk was quick to get back to the feet, but Namajunas smelled blood in the water and she was on the attack.
The former “Ultimate Fighter” runner-up was relentless as her confidence grew with each punch thrown and she finally connected with a vicious left hand that turned Jedrzejczyk’s legs into rubber as she crumbled to the canvas.
THAT LEFT HOOK THO!!!@RoseNamajunas #UFC217 pic.twitter.com/bxo33yzSLi
— UFC (@ufc) November 5, 2017
Namajunas followed up with a barrage of punches until Jedrzejczyk tapped the canvas as referee John McCarthy rushed into stop the fight.
The end came at 3:03 into the opening round as Namajunas was crowned the new UFC women’s strawweight champion.
Afterwards, Namajunas said that she wasn’t anything special despite that performance and instead spent her post fight speech imploring people to treat each other better after so much negativity has permeated the news cycle in recent weeks.
“This belt don’t mean nothing,” Namajunas said. “Just be a good person. Let’s just give each other hugs and be nice.”
It was an incredible performance as Namajunas becomes the third ever strawweight champion in a fight just a month short of three years after she fell short in her first bid to win the belt following “The Ultimate Fighter” season 20. Now Namajunas can stand tall as she celebrates her incredible win as she is now the queen of the strawweight division while also becoming the first person to defeat Jedrzejczyk in mixed martial arts.
