Joanna Jedrzejczyk and the Great Strawweight Push

After her last outing gave Polish sensation, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, the opportunity to establish herself a whole new fan base as she played support act to Ronda Rousey versus Holly Holm, UFC are continuing their strawweight initiative as the champ gets ready for her third title defense against Claudia Gadelha.

With the eyes of the MMA universe on Las Vegas last week, the slick talking, scrap-loving Jedrzejczyk was given the spotlight on a number of occasions by UFC.

Tenacious taunts from the European champion decorated the majority of her public appearances. Ever-growing into her billing as an unstoppable titleholder, Jedrzejczyk snarled in the direction of Claudia Gadelha every time they shared the same space.

The championship pairing's final public appearance forced the tired arms of Dana White into action. With Conor McGregor punching the hand of Nate Diaz the day before, the UFC president's face was one of sheer irritation as the straw weights engaged in a face-off fracas, which isn't too surprising given that similar exchanges seem to be happening much more in MMA's current climate.

This is a unique test for the Polish fighter, though. Her split decision win over Gadelha in December 2014 is one of the most controversial conclusions in the history of the division. Jedrzejczyk earned a title-shot for the victory, which she later won against Carla Esparza, but Gadelha's coach, Andre Pederneiras, took his discontent with the decision to the digital world where he stated, "judges have no idea of what MMA is":

He added: "The worst thing is to hear that (it) is impossible (for) a result (to) be changed. It's the same thing (as) being robbed and (the) police department tells you that you have to accept, go home and keep working and wait (for) the next robbery."

Pederneiras wasn't the only one who thought that the Brazilian was slighted out of the decision either. Certainly, Gadelha has given the current champion her most competitive bout. Back in August, she reinvigorated her championship trajectory with a decision win over Jessica Aguilar–a woman long considered the best fighter at 115 lbs–and now the Nova Uniao charge has set her second date with Jedrzejczyk for July 8. However, it's a different kind of Jedrzejczyk that awaits her.

After her title capture and two subsequent title defenses we know that Jedrzejczyk is one of the best strikers in the sport, and we know she also has a personality to go along with it. During UFC 196's fight week, the Muay Thai expert had her championship glow on high as her general demeanor displayed her as a dominant division topper, full of confidence and self-belief.

She gave Gadelha a sarcastic smile and gestured towards a bottle of water when before their face off at the 'Unstoppable' press conference, which cued Dana White to tell as story of a "melee" between the two on the final of recording the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter.

"Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Claudia Gadelha," he began, "the last day when they shut down filming, they got into a full blown fist fight (with) head kicks, a nasty fight in The Ultimate Fighter gym. So, I knew that shit was coming from them," he commented on their face off at the 'Unstoppable' press conference.

"If you noticed during the press conference, when those two start talking I turned around and I'm like, 'how the fuck did we end up putting those two next to each other?'

"That's why I had our security guy go up there and get in between them. You noticed they were both showing each other the water bottles? Joanna Jedrzejczyk hit her with a water bottle. That's how the fight started.

"Wait 'til the season of The Ultimate Fighter with these two. The stare down in the gym was even crazy at the end before the fight happened."

With Dana White promoting their roles as coaches in the upcoming season, it is another clear push from the promotion with Jedrzejczyk and the strawweight division. Following her appearance in the co-main event ahead of Rousey's eventual fall at UFC 193, TUF will give the champion another chance to impress international audiences.

The Polish Muay Thai proponent has some big boots to fill following McGregor catapulting the reality platform to its best season ever when coached alongside Urijah Faber last time out. That being said, Jedrzejczyk definitely has a compelling way to her, and if she manages to sell her ice cold approach during the broadcasts of the show, UFC could have another star on their hands.

However, as we can all attest to after last weekend's results from UFC 196, Gadelha has a chance to steal the limelight of 'Joanna Champion' when they clash on July 8 and just because you've got the backing of the promotion, it doesn't mean you're immune to big upsets.