The UFC’s first ever woman’s strawweight champion Carla Esparza will make the opening defense of her belt against Joanna Jedrzejczyk in the co-main event of UFC 185 on March 14th in Dallas, Texas.
Esparza became the champion after defeating Rose Namajunas by rear-naked choke in the final of The Ultimate Fighter 20 back in December.
‘The Cookie Monster’ had also been Invicta FC’s 115lb title holder prior to that and had been considered the favorite to win the TUF show.
Jedrzejczyk is currently undefeated in eight professional fights to date, including two wins so far inside the Octagon. The Polish striker cemented herself as the No.1 contender in the division after a close fight with Claudia Gadelha last month which she won by split decision.
In essence this is a classic grappler Vs striker match-up, with Esparza having the best wrestling in the division, while Jedrzejczyk is top of her weight class when it comes to boxing.
With Esparza Vs Jedrzejczyk now installed as the co-main event due to it’s title status, a major welterweight clash between Johny Hendricks and Matt Brown now moves to the third spot on the main card, while the main event features another title encounter as lightweight champion Anthony Pettis faces Rafael dos Anjos.
