Joanna Jedrzejczyk will get a chance to run it back with Rose Namajunas in the co-main event of UFC 223 in Brooklyn.
The UFC 223 co-main event was officially announced at the 25th Anniversary press-conference.
Rose Namajunas stunned the MMA world in November with a beautiful first round knockout over dominant champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk. With top contenders Tecia Torres and Jessica Andrade matched up for UFC Orlando, that left an immediate rematch as the best course of action for the strawweight division.
Rose Namajunas was a highly touted prospect when she was selected to be on the cast of The Ultimate Fighter‘s 20th season. Thug Rose was 2-1 including a flying armbar, then tore through the show with a trio of submission victories. Namajunas went on to lose against Carla Esparza for the division’s inaugural title fight, then rattled off three straight victories before losing to Karolina Kowalkiewicz, which set her back in the division. The Lithuanian bounced back with a dominant win over Michelle Waterson and earned a second title shot. As previously mentioned, Namajunas took full advantage and knocked out the champ.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk was ranked among the pound-for-pound best in the sport with five dominant defenses of the title she won over Carla Esparza. Notable wins over top-tier strawweights Claudia Gadelha and Jessica Andrade had fans wondering if anyone would dethrone the Polish champion. Then came Namajunas. With the first round knockout came the first loss of Jedrezjczyk’s career.
UFC 223 will take place from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on April 7. Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov will hopefully face off in the main event for some version of the lightweight title, Al Iaquinta and Paul Felder will throw down in a Fight of the Night candidate, and Mairbek Taisumov will attempt to continue his thunderous rise through the lightweight division against Evan Dunham.
