The Province

CALGARY LANDS BIG UFC BOUT

- DANNY AUSTIN Postmedia Network

CALGARY — Two of the best female fighters in the world will be facing off in Calgary.

Only a couple days after the UFC officially confirmed to Postmedia that it would be returning to the Alberta city, the promotion added a fight between former strawweigh­t champion Joanna Jedrzejczy­k and perennial contender Tecia Torres to the July 28 card.

Six months ago, this might have been the headliner.

From early-2015 until late last year, Jedrzejczy­k was the undisputed queen of the women’s 115 lbs. division. She won six straight championsh­ip fights, often in brutal fashion and beat the likes of Claudia Gadelha, Karolina Kowalkiewi­cz and Jessica Andrade along the way.

Heading into her championsh­ip fight with Rose Namajunas at UFC 217 in November, there was serious talk about the Polish muay-thai champion being the greatest women’s fighter in MMA history.

Two consecutiv­e losses to Namajunas have set her back just a bit, but she remains the consensus No. 2 fighter in the world at 115 lbs. and firmly believed she deserved to get her hand raised after losing a close decision to the current champion at UFC 223 last month.

Jedrzejczy­k also made it clear that she didn’t have much time for anyone comparing her skillset to the women in the rest of the division, like Torres.

 ??  ?? JOANNA JEDRZEJCZY­K
JOANNA JEDRZEJCZY­K

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