Jedrzejczyk's Style May Clash With Unapproving Aussies at UFC 193

Joanna Jedrzejczyk's title defense in Melbourne this weekend is anticipated to be a great launch pad for the Polish starlet's career.

The strawweight division and Jedrzejczyk herself have failed to capture the attention of those outside the diehard fan base, but with her billing as the co-main event for UFC 193 the promotion are hopeful that her career will be bolstered. The fact that Ronda Rousey will headline the card, the biggest draw in modern day MMA, should help the Polish starlet due to the number of eyes the former Olympian brings to the table. To add to that, the night itself is set to be a groundbreaking for women's sport in general as the event is predicted to break the UFC's gate record of 55,724 from Georges St-Pierre and Jake Shields' meeting back in 2011.

It is the first time in the history of combat sports that both the main event and the co-main event of a pay-per-view package will boast women's bouts, an amazing feat considering Dana White complete dismissal of women's MMA under the UFC umbrella in his infamous and brief interview with TMZ back in 2011.

The fanfare for Rousey has poured out into the cultural mainstream since her UFC debut in February 2013. A number one bestseller, a movie star and an iconic feminist in the eyes of the world today, there is no doubt that main strength of the judoka still exists in her performances in the Octagon. Dimensions ahead of the rest of the field, Rousey has dispatched her last four opponents in roughly the first minute of the first round and there is great confidence that Jedrzejczyk can have a similarly dominant run in her own division.

While the Muay Thai champion has looked every bit as efficient as Rousey since her title capture against Carla Esparza, she brings a different kind of spectacle to the Octagon. While Rousey takes mere seconds to claim victory over her opponents, at 20 lbs lighter Jedrzejczyk takes a little more time to finish her counterparts. That being said, it does not mean the process has been any more enjoyable for her opponents in comparison to Rousey's.

Jedrzejczyk's striking is so advanced that we have literally watched her last two opponents, Esparza and Jessica Penne, crumble as the strawweight champion tuned them up with a series of vicious punches, kicks, knee and elbows. In the second round of their meeting back in March, Esparza stood with her hands down, wincing as the Pole's blows flew towards her face. Trying as she did to take the action to the floor, Jedrzejczyk pummeled her with shots and sprawled effortlessly. When Jedrzejczyk forced Esparza up against the fence, she threw out a combination with annihilating accuracy and as the referee stepped in to stop the action, Esparza slumped to the ground, beaten.

The striking clinic the Polish champion put on for her first title defense against Penne was so constant that the American could do little more than cover up as Jedrzejczyk landed with volume. By the time the third round came around Penne wore a significant swell to the side of her head and bloodied nose due to an elbow from the champion. As game as Penne was on the night, her night ended in the same way Esparza's did. Already substantially damaged from the onslaught of the champion, as Jedrzejczyk dispatched another furious flurry against the fence, Marc Goddard was forced to step in and bring a close to the proceedings.

For MMA purists, the technique and aggression of Jedrzejczyk is a joy to watch, but for those who have not seen a lot of women's mixed martial arts, it can be quite a shock to the system to see such a petite woman completely destroy her counterparts. And if we've learned anything from previous events in Australia it is that such one-sided contests can cause a bit of an upheaval.

After Mark Hunt and Stipe Miocic met in Adelaide back in May, their meeting was used as weight in the debate about the legality of the sport in Australia. No one can deny that it was difficult to watch the K-1 legend being pounded for five rounds, but Australian politician Denis Napthine claimed it gave grounds to outlaw the sport in the province of Victoria.

"Mark Hunt hit 361 times in w/end Cage Fight & Daniel Andrews wants to legalise this thuggery & brutality in Victoria," he tweeted in the early hours of the day following their meeting.

To add to that, the Sydney Morning Herald published an article in January 2014 that blamed people training MMA to "a string of savage street attacks." The by-line of the article read:

"It's brutal, it breaks bodies and it's been blamed for a string of savage street attacks. So why is mixed martial arts the latest gym craze?"

The article also cited two incidents where people who trained MMA were involved in attacks on the street:

"On New Year's Eve, Shaun McNeil, 25, boasted "I'm an MMA fighter", according to NSW Police, before allegedly putting Daniel Christie into a life-threatening coma, this on the same Kings Cross corner where, 18 months before, Kieran Loveridge, another MMA devotee, "king-hit" several defenseless passers-by before landing an ambush blow on Thomas Kelly, killing him."

Earlier in the year another story broke that highlighted MMA's struggle for legitimacy in Australia. On September 25, Bloody Elbow reported that "Soa Palelei was recently banned from visiting sick kids in Western Australia - despite representing the Make-A-Wish Foundation - because Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) wants nothing to do with violent cage fighting."

It seems as though the sport itself is being used as a bargaining tool in Australia. For this weekend's event even to take place the Victorian government had to lift a ban on contests taking place inside caged enclosures. Given the nation's history of reacting to bouts like Hunt vs Miocic, don't be surprised if another signature performance of Jedrzejczyk's is marred by country's tumultuous relationship with the sport.