LAS VEGAS -- Polish sensation Joanna Jedrzejdczyk defended her UFC strawweight title for the third time at "The Ultimate Fighter" 23 Finale, weathering an early storm from rival Claudia Gadelha en route to a unanimous decision Friday.
Jedrzejczyk (12-0) surrendered takedowns in each of the first three rounds but avoided taking significant damage and forced Gadelha to expend a lot of energy in the process. As usual, she was brilliant on the feet and eventually ran away on the scorecards in the later rounds.
The three judges scoring the fight all had it for the champion: 48-45, 48-46 and 48-46. ESPN.com also scored it 48-46 for Jedrzejczyk.
It was the second meeting between the 115-pound rivals. They met in a three-round bout in December 2014. Jedrzejczyk picked up a narrow split decision and would go on to win the UFC championship in her next fight. Although the two exchanged words as recent coaches on TUF, they showed mutual respect after the fight.
"We knew it would be a real tough fight," Jedrzejczyk said. "I said after our first fight, she's No. 1 and I am champion. I have so much respect for her."
Gadelha, who trains out of Nova Uniao in Rio de Janeiro, embraced Jedrzejczyk after the scorecards were read. The 27-year-old's UFC record fell to 2-2.
Things looked promising for Gadelha in the first two rounds, as her wrestling heavily dictated where the fight went. In addition to the grappling, she actually dropped Jedrzejczyk in the opening seconds with a left hook, but the champion recovered quickly.
The momentum started to turn in the third. Gadelha walked into a stinging counter right hand that put her on her back foot for the first time. With the space to finally work, Jedrzejczyk opened up with kicks to the legs and body. She utilized her reach advantage well, popping Gadelha with the jab.
Gadelha started to breathe heavily in the third but managed to mount one big moment late in the round when she wobbled Jedrzejczyk with an elbow near the fence. Jedrzejczyk was in phenomenal shape, however, and went on to dominate the last two rounds.
According to Fightmetric, Jedrzejczyk out-landed Gadelha in total strikes 234 to 78. In the fourth round alone, she landed 75 to Gadelha's six.
Jedrzejczyk improves to 6-0 in the UFC. ESPN.com ranked Jedrzejczyk the No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter in the world coming into the contest.
Brooks victorious in UFC debut
Former Bellator MMA lightweight champion Will Brooks (18-1) picked up a unanimous decision victory against Ross Pearson (19-11) in his UFC debut. Brooks wasn't overly impressive and appeared hurt by punches in the third round, but he controlled pace and range well to earn unanimous 29-28 scores.
Brooks, 29, signed with the UFC last month. He vacated the Bellator 155-pound title in May and secured his release from the promotion. He looked at ease in his debut in the Octagon, as he kept Pearson guessing in the opening rounds and used his wrestling to secure a takedown in the second frame.
An aggressive Pearson stunned Brooks with a left hand midway through the third round. He followed with an effective kick to the body and a flurry along the fence, but Brooks covered up and eventually circled out of trouble.
Brooks won the Bellator title in 2014, after it was vacated by current UFC champion Eddie Alvarez. After the win, Brooks mentioned a future fight against Alvarez.
"You got away from me in another organization," Brooks said.
The victory was Brooks' ninth straight win.