Michelle Waterson made it to the cusp of title contention in the UFC Strawweight division, but could not overcome former champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk. In the main event of UFC Fight Night 161 in Tampa, Florida, Jedrzejczyk used her expert Muay Thai skills and length advantage to earn a unanimous-decision victory (50-45×2, 49-46) over Waterson.
Prior to the match, there were concerns about Jedrzejczyk making weight. She pulled through on that end with flying colors on Friday, and turned in a vintage performance to prove she’s still a force to be reckoned with in a division she once ruled.
This one wasn’t even close. Jedrzejczyk outstruck Waterson in all five rounds, and 180-58 overall in the fight. Jedrzejczyk even beat Waterson with three takedowns to one.
After this masterful performance, it is clear Waterson isn’t ready to challenge the newly crowned champion Weili Zhang.
However, Jedrzejczyk might be getting a crack at the title soon. Jedrzejczyk came into the fight ranked No. 5 and Waterson was seventh. Tatiana Suarez seems like the logical choice to face Weili next, but with Jedrzejczyk’s win, she could be in a position to regain her title within a year if she remains at strawweight.
In the co-main event, veteran featherweight Cub Swanson won a knock-down-drag-out affair with Kron Gracie. Swanson was teetering on becoming a gatekeeper in the 145-pound division, but his win over the up-and-coming member of the legendary Gracie family was right on time.
The win snaps a four-fight losing streak for Swanson. The match won Fight of the Night which also delivered Swanson his 12th bonus with the organization.
Niko Price produced another memorable KO from a precarious position. From his back, Price connected with an upkick against James Vick that rendered the latter unconscious.
Price’s win earned him a Performance of the Night bonus, which was his fourth with the UFC. He also improved to 14-3. Vick is going in the opposition direction. He has now lost four fights in a row with three of them coming by a vicious KO.
The other Performance of the Night bonus went to Marlon Vera for his third-round KO win over Andre Ewell.
There was no highlight-reel finish. However, Vera took down a tough and underrated guy in Ewell with a consistent attack that ultimately led to the late finish in the undercard bout.
Here is a look at all of the results from Tampa.
- Joanna Jedrzejczyk def. Michelle Waterson via Unanimous Decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46)
- FOTN – Cub Swanson def. Kron Gracie via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- POTN – Niko Price def. James Vick via KO (Upkick) at 1:44 of Round One
- Amanda Ribas def. Mackenzie Dern via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Matt Frevola def. Luis Pena via Split Decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
- Eryk Anders def. Gerald Meerschaert via Split Decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
- Ryan Spann def. Devin Clark via Submission (Guillotine) at 2:01 of Round Two
- Mike Davis def. Thomas Gifford via KO (Punches) at 4:45 of Round Three
- Alex Morono def. Max Griffin via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-27)
- Deiveson Figueiredo def. Tim Elliott via Submission (Guillotine) at 3:08 of Round One
- POTN – Marlon Vera def. Andre Ewell via TKO (Strikes) at 3:17 of Round Three
- Miguel Baeza def. Hector Aldana via TKO (Strikes) at 2:32 of Round Two
- Marvin Vettori def. Andrew Sanchez via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- JJ Aldrich def. Lauren Mueller via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)