UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregorNov 14, 2016 by Jim Edwards
Karolina Kowalkiewicz Wants Rematch With Joanna Jedrzejczyk in Poland
Karolina Kowalkiewicz Wants Rematch With Joanna Jedrzejczyk in Poland
Recent UFC strawweight title challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz wants a rematch with Joanna Jedrzejczyk in her home country.
The UFC's debut in New York felt like it nearly had it all. An undercard filled with amazing performances, stunning knockouts, slick submissions, and of course, Conor McGregor.
The Irishman rightly dominated the headlines Sunday morning, but it was two women from Poland who got the title fights underway on Saturday night and they more than played their part in the crescendo of excitement.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk defeated Karolina Kowalkiewicz on all three judges' scorecards 49-46, but if you assessed the fight on just that stat alone you will have missed the true narrative of the story.
The strawweight champion Jedrzejczyk largely dominated the fight, but Kowalkiewicz's footwork was superb throughout and her ability to get in and out of distance quickly after firing her shots meant she came out relatively unscathed after 25 minutes of battle.
Such was Kowalkiewicz's speed, it also meant that her counter-punching was also a big danger--just ask Jedrzejczyk who for the first time in her career was in real threat of being stopped after eating a massive counter right from Kowalkiewicz in the fourth round.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BMwQBCEgNmV/" hide_caption="0"]
Despite not being able to get the finish, Kowalkiewicz took Jedrzejczyk to places she'd never been before, and while the scorecards were never in doubt, the murmurings of a rematch began even before the two had left the Octagon.
The talked continued once both were backstage, and unsurprisingly Kowalkiewicz was in little doubt of what she wanted.
"I'm a little bit sad and a little bit angry. I'm angry at myself," Kowalkiewicz told UFC.com. "But I'm happy, because I do what I love. We give a very good fight, and I want a rematch in Poland.
"I don't know [what I would've done differently], right now I'm not thinking about this."
Kowalkiewicz was then a little more specific on a timeline of when she would like her next fight.
"Before this fight, I said I wanted a little break," she said. "I want my next fight maybe in May. Something like this. I want a few months break."
Later in the post-fight press conference, Kowalkiewicz expanded on her previous desire for a break and a rematch in Poland.
"I was so close, I know it," Kowalkiewicz said when asked if she was close to finishing the fight. "I'll beat her next time--rematch in Poland.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BMsIKeEAXE_/" hide_caption="0"]
"I need a few days' break, and I'll go back to training and come back stronger."
Dana White was later asked about the possibility of a rematch at his own post-fight UFC 205 presser. The UFC president didn't shoot down the idea entirely but did suggest they might go a different route first.
"It was awesome it was a great fight," White said. "Rematch--Karolina wants the rematch real bad, and her guys have been all over me asking for it. We will see what happens.
"I think we'll do Claudia Gadelha and Karolina and see what happens. But again, I don't like making fights on the night of fights. We will see what happens."
Suggesting Kowalkiewicz fight Gadelha first was a little puzzling given the fact Gadelha fights Courtney Casey in Brazil this weekend.
Should Kowalkiewicz and her team get their wish, there are a few options for potential venues.
UFC could return to the Tauron Arena in Krakow which was the site of the UFC Fight Night: Gonzaga vs. Cro Cop 2 in April 2015. The Tauron has a capacity of 18,000, though another option would be the UFC going big for the National Stadium in Warsaw.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BMwQUYHBFWR/" hide_caption="0"]
The National Stadium is the largest soccer stadium in Poland and was opened in 2012 with a retractable roof. The stadium is multipurpose and claims to be able to hold up to 72,900 people for concerts and 58,145 for soccer matches.
The idea of filling a stadium in Poland may seem far-fetched, but KSW, an MMA organization based in Poland, has sold out venues of 18,000 multiple times with very little difficulty. Given the quality and the buzz after their first fight, you could imagine a rematch between Jedrzejczyk and Kowalkiewicz in Poland next year wouldn't exactly be hard to sell to the locals.
The Irishman rightly dominated the headlines Sunday morning, but it was two women from Poland who got the title fights underway on Saturday night and they more than played their part in the crescendo of excitement.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk defeated Karolina Kowalkiewicz on all three judges' scorecards 49-46, but if you assessed the fight on just that stat alone you will have missed the true narrative of the story.
The strawweight champion Jedrzejczyk largely dominated the fight, but Kowalkiewicz's footwork was superb throughout and her ability to get in and out of distance quickly after firing her shots meant she came out relatively unscathed after 25 minutes of battle.
Such was Kowalkiewicz's speed, it also meant that her counter-punching was also a big danger--just ask Jedrzejczyk who for the first time in her career was in real threat of being stopped after eating a massive counter right from Kowalkiewicz in the fourth round.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BMwQBCEgNmV/" hide_caption="0"]
Despite not being able to get the finish, Kowalkiewicz took Jedrzejczyk to places she'd never been before, and while the scorecards were never in doubt, the murmurings of a rematch began even before the two had left the Octagon.
The talked continued once both were backstage, and unsurprisingly Kowalkiewicz was in little doubt of what she wanted.
"I'm a little bit sad and a little bit angry. I'm angry at myself," Kowalkiewicz told UFC.com. "But I'm happy, because I do what I love. We give a very good fight, and I want a rematch in Poland.
"I don't know [what I would've done differently], right now I'm not thinking about this."
Kowalkiewicz was then a little more specific on a timeline of when she would like her next fight.
"Before this fight, I said I wanted a little break," she said. "I want my next fight maybe in May. Something like this. I want a few months break."
Later in the post-fight press conference, Kowalkiewicz expanded on her previous desire for a break and a rematch in Poland.
"I was so close, I know it," Kowalkiewicz said when asked if she was close to finishing the fight. "I'll beat her next time--rematch in Poland.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BMsIKeEAXE_/" hide_caption="0"]
"I need a few days' break, and I'll go back to training and come back stronger."
Dana White was later asked about the possibility of a rematch at his own post-fight UFC 205 presser. The UFC president didn't shoot down the idea entirely but did suggest they might go a different route first.
"It was awesome it was a great fight," White said. "Rematch--Karolina wants the rematch real bad, and her guys have been all over me asking for it. We will see what happens.
"I think we'll do Claudia Gadelha and Karolina and see what happens. But again, I don't like making fights on the night of fights. We will see what happens."
Suggesting Kowalkiewicz fight Gadelha first was a little puzzling given the fact Gadelha fights Courtney Casey in Brazil this weekend.
Should Kowalkiewicz and her team get their wish, there are a few options for potential venues.
UFC could return to the Tauron Arena in Krakow which was the site of the UFC Fight Night: Gonzaga vs. Cro Cop 2 in April 2015. The Tauron has a capacity of 18,000, though another option would be the UFC going big for the National Stadium in Warsaw.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BMwQUYHBFWR/" hide_caption="0"]
The National Stadium is the largest soccer stadium in Poland and was opened in 2012 with a retractable roof. The stadium is multipurpose and claims to be able to hold up to 72,900 people for concerts and 58,145 for soccer matches.
The idea of filling a stadium in Poland may seem far-fetched, but KSW, an MMA organization based in Poland, has sold out venues of 18,000 multiple times with very little difficulty. Given the quality and the buzz after their first fight, you could imagine a rematch between Jedrzejczyk and Kowalkiewicz in Poland next year wouldn't exactly be hard to sell to the locals.