Dan Hardy's UFC 211 preview: Stipe Miocic and Joanna Jedrzejczyk put their titles on the line in Dallas
UFC welterweight and commentator Dan Hardy looks ahead to this weekend’s event, with two UFC titles up for grabs at the top of the card in Dallas, Texas
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Your support makes all the difference.Two titles are on the line in Dallas, Texas, this weekend, as champions and challengers go head-to-head for the most prestigious belts in combat sports.
Both the smallest and largest UFC champions will welcome their next contenders into the Octagon and attempt to retain their coveted gold strap. Women’s strawweight queen and Polish striking standout, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, will face her most physically imposing challenge yet, as Jessica Andrade rides a successful three-fight win streak into her first title shot.
Joanna established herself as the woman to beat after a one-sided shutdown of inaugural champion, Carla Esparza, at UFC 185 just over two years ago.
Using an unshakable defensive wrestling game she forced Esparza to face her in a kickboxing fight which proved to be a painful and sobering experience for the former champion. Joanna has since gone on to defend her title four more times, using the same ferocious game plan and ever-improving martial arts skills. The difference here though is that Andrade is a different kind of contender. Yes, she has a strong ground game and the ability to submit opponents even at the highest level, but she is also a fearless striker.
Her face-first, kamikaze style could be her undoing against a high level Muay Thai champion like Joanna. Watching her previous fights however, the recklessness of her attack is made up for in part by her focused intention to inflict as much harm as quickly as possible.
Couple this with the fact that she has recently dropped 20 pounds to make the strawweight limit, after a largely successful campaign at bantamweight. The power that she possessed at the higher weight class seems to have transferred to her new, lighter, more compact frame without any noticeable drop-off. If anything she is twice as fast and better conditioned for it.
This poses two clear problems for the current champion. Keeping space from Andrade when she knows no other way to fight except in a phone box is the first. And when she inevitably does close the distance, what you do with a short, powerful fighter nicknamed, ‘Piledriver’, who doesn’t stop throwing punches until she connects?
Jessica also has a less-than-orthodox wrestling game. With her first introduction to the martial arts coming in the form of Judo, it’s understandable why this is still a favourable approach. She likes to clinch the upper body and use her lower centre of gravity and excellent leverage to launch opponents through the air in a disorientating manner.
Having faced the more conventional wrestling attack in most of her previous bouts, this approach from Andrade may present some different problems for Joanna. With her recent move to the world-renowned American Top Team a couple of fights ago, Jedrzejczyk has all of the resources she needs to defend the belt against anyone, including Andrade.
The fight will be won in the nuances of preparation; of making sure all of the correct bases are covered before the fight comes. I doubt it will be a comparison of technical ability that Joanna would struggle with, but rather the ferocity and physicality of this new foe. Andrade has already gathered three impressive wins in the strawweight division since her move and she looks to be the next most dominant force beside Joanna.
There are without a doubt holes in her game which can be exploited by Jedrzejczyk. The challenge will be finding the time as Andrade comes crashing forward. With a sharp Muay Thai attack and absolute refusal to grapple, Joanna can leave with the belt around her waist.
Employing a smashing elbow game once Jessica makes her way through her punches and kicks will be a good investment. If not to hurt the new challenger, then to discourage her reckless aggression. Space is what Joanna needs to assert her game and Andrade is one of the best at denying that luxury. It will be Joanna’s toughest test, but will solidify her as the undisputed champion by everyone else in the division (whether they would admit it or not!)
The headlining bout rockets us right to the top of the weight classes, as the current UFC heavyweight champion, Stipe Miocic, will attempt to make his second defence against the last man to beat him, Junior Dos Santos, the former UFC heavyweight champion. With a shocking knockout victory over Cain Velasquez back in 2011, JDS clinched the belt and defended it one time against Frank Mir at UFC 146 six months later.
In the subsequent rematches with Velasquez, in 2012 and 2013, JDS came up short and was bettered both times, but has never fallen too far from the number one contender spot. He has made huge improvements since then and moving to American Top Team has added new dimensions to his game.
In Dos Santos’ first bout with Miocic, in December 2014, he claimed a hard-fought victory after five rounds, but the unanimous decision on his record doesn’t indicate how difficult it was to get the nod from the judges. I had Stipe winning the first two and JDS edging the championship rounds, but the big question was the third. Miocic was pushing forward, albeit slower and more vulnerable than in the first two rounds.
He left himself open to a long left hook which put him on the canvas temporarily and which likely lost him the round. If anything, his takeaway from their first encounter is that he needed to improve his conditioning if he is to replicate the onslaught which Velasquez put upon JDS. I’m sure he would agree that he wouldn’t have been knocked down had be not been so laboured in his attack.
The conditioning and durability of JDS is without question, so if you can’t stop him within the distance, winning a judges’ decision is always going to be a huge effort. Since that loss Miocic has put together an outstanding four-fight winning streak. Beginning two years ago with a comprehensive dismantling of Mark Hunt, where he showed better cardiovascular output and a more disciplined and thought-out approach, he then ran off three in the first round including winning and defending the world title, against Fabricio Werdum and Alistair Overeem respectively.
It is clear that Stipe learned a lot from the defeat in his first encounter with Dos Santos, and it will be fascinating to see if he has the ingredients to beat him in this rematch.
The American Top Team gym will have their work cut out this weekend, with nine of their fighters on the card. Dos Santos is the last of the ATT fighters to make the walk, Joanna will have just attempted to defend her belt against Andrade, and the fate of their other team mates will have already been decided.
Dos Santos admitted that Miocic gave him his toughest fight to date and if he is able to beat him again he gets the world title back. If JDS isn’t careful the pressure of the occasion could be detrimental to his performance. This will be his fifth title fight, but he will face the best version of Stipe Miocic yet. Expect a technical battle that becomes an all-out war if we see the later rounds.
Watch UFC 211: Miocic vs Dos Santos 2 live on BT Sport 2 from 1am BST on the morning of Sunday 14th May, or catch the Early Prelims exclusively on UFC Fight Pass from 11:15pm BST on Saturday
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