UFC Tampa Review – Joanna returns with emphatic victory

Alastair Bishop Posted On October 17, 2019

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In the main event of the evening, Joanna Jedrzejczyk dominated Michelle Waterson to win by a unanimous decision. The former champion put herself back in title fight conversations and called out current belt holder Zhang Weili post-fight.
- Discussing her impressive victory, Jedrzejczyk said “Guys, I said before that it was going to be my party, I danced really hard and I feel like I could do five more rounds. I fought with a broken foot since the end of the second round, beginning of the third, it was hard, but thank you for coming. It is an honour to headline the show here in Tampa, I moved to Florida three years ago. My country is Poland, but Florida is my second house. Big thanks to God, my family and my friends. Let’s go baby, let’s fight for the belt.”

Cub Swanson handed Kron Gracie his first career loss in their co-main featherweight bout. Swanson, who triumphed via a unanimous decision, returns to the win column after struggling in his last four appearances in the Octagon®.
- Reflecting on a challenging period in his career, Swanson said “I tell people all the time, it’s not about winning fights, that’s easy. Coming back from a loss can be the hardest thing in the world and doing it after four really tested me. Any win would have been great, I wanted that in my last fight, but I came in with the wrong mentality and he ended up wanting it more, I didn’t want to make that mistake again. Kron, we have history, he has a name, it means a lot to me. I had a feeling that he would have to stand and strike with me because I was doing a really good job of evading. He did a good job of taking advantage of me pulling my head back and when I was exiting, he did a great job with that. I was cool with him brawling, even though I was getting punched, I knew it was better for me.”

Italian middleweight Marvin Vettori continued his ascent through the division with a unanimous decision win over Andrew Sanchez. ‘The Italian Dream’ has now won two straight bouts and expressed his desire to rematch reigning champion Israel Adesanya post-fight.
- Discussing his performance, Vettori said “That’s two wins in a row now and before that I fought Israel and he’s the champ now. It was a super close fight, many even said I won, so I’ve had some up and downs but I’m finding my stride now. Even my first eight or so fights, half of those guys are in the top 15 or former top 15 now I feel, I never had easy fights, but it’s been a great learning curve and now I’m on the right path. I have the best people around me at Kings MMA, it’s not just the technique but also the energy, I’m becoming a true martial artist.”

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