A pair of former strawweight title challengers kicked off the televised prelims at Saturday’s UFC 265 in Houston, Texas.
Jessica Penne and Karolina Kowalkiewicz had both fallen victim to Joanna Jedrzejczyk in years past. Saturday night, Poland’s Kowalkiewicz found herself looking to snap a four fight skid against Penne, who had returned to the octagon earlier this year, picking up a win over Lupita Godinez.
It was Penne getting her hands going early, while Kowalkiewicz stayed mobile on the outside. The Polish fighter then caught a kick and dumped Penne on her back, following her opponent to the ground and getting on top. Penne got back up, however, then took Kowalkiewicz down and settled into her guard.
Kowalkiewicz was active off her back, throwing punches from bottom and later firing upkicks. Penne, however, stayed right on her, to her own peril as Kowalkiewicz latched on with a kneebar. Penne had to scramble, but finally got to mount. Kowalkiewicz then found herself trying to fend off an arm-bar. Kowalkiewicz tried to slam her way out of it, but Penne adjusted, re-positioned, and forced the tap!
Flipping the script!
💥 @JessicaPenne gets the armbar in RD 1! #UFC265 pic.twitter.com/Cc6ktjlT2m
— UFC (@ufc) August 8, 2021
For Penne, the win at UFC 265 makes it two in a row, and she’s back in good standing in the strawweight division. As for Karolina Kowalkiewicz, that may be the last of her in the UFC. She’ll also likely regret spending that much time on the ground with the BJJ black belt Penne.
Official Result: Jessica Penne def. Karolina Kowalkiewicz by submission (arm-bar), Round 1, 4:32
