The 5 best Strawweight title fights in UFC history

#1 Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Claudia Gadelha – TUF XXIII Finale

Joanna Jedrzejczyk's war with Claudia Gadelha remains the best title fight in UFC Strawweight history

Despite defeating Jessica Penne and Valerie Letourneau in her first two title defenses, only one fighter seemingly had the potential to test Joanna Jedrzejczyk in the early years of the UFC Strawweight division – Brazil’s Claudia Gadelha. Jedrzejczyk had torn through every opponent she’d faced in her UFC run, but Gadelha had taken her to a split decision in 2014 – Joanna’s last fight before winning the title – and many fans actually felt she’d deserved the nod.

It was therefore inevitable that a rematch between the duo – with the title on the line – would be booked at some stage, and sure enough, after Gadelha defeated the highly rated Jessica Aguilar, a title fight with Jedrzejczyk was finally made for the finale of the 23rd season of The Ultimate Fighter - a season that would also see the two coach rival teams against one another.

Unsurprisingly, the rivalry only grew between the two during the TUF tapings, as the confident Jedrzejczyk talked trash non-stop towards her future opponent. But could the fight live up to the hype generated by the reality show? The answer was yes – and then some.

It was actually Gadelha who came out of the gates quicker, surprising Jedrzejczyk with a counter left hand that knocked her down in the opening seconds. Joanna looked more stunned than hurt, but it set the tone for a dominant round for the challenger, who threatened on the ground with submissions following a pair of takedowns, and also landed the better shots standing.

Gadelha continued her hot start in the second round, again landing the better strikes and also scoring with another takedown and some strong groundwork, too. But after the round, it became clear who the advantage truly lay with – Jedrzejczyk still seemed fresh, while Gadelha looked on the verge of exhaustion.

Sure enough, despite giving up another couple of takedowns in the third, the Polish champion found her range and began to snipe at Gadelha with vicious, clean combinations, even shrugging off a heavy elbow strike from the Brazilian. The fourth round, in particular, was one-sided in favor of Jedrzejczyk, as she hit Gadelha with a ridiculous amount of combinations, busting her up and almost finishing her at one point. The fifth was largely academic, and at the end of a 25-minute war, Jedrzejczyk had once again defended her title.

The fight remains the best title fight in UFC Strawweight history for a couple of reasons; firstly, it was the culmination of a big rivalry and when it came down to it, the fight lived up to the build when so many other similarly built fights had failed. Secondly, it was probably the high point of both women’s careers in the UFC – although they’ve both picked up big wins since, neither has seemed quite the same – the mark of a truly violent and potentially career-changing war. Simply put, this was a genuine classic.