UFC Fight Night Tampa: Preview and Schedule

After the action-packed weekend with Isreal Adesanya reigning in the Middleweight title in UFC 243, Florida is all set for UFC Fight Night 161 taking place this weekend. This time the main event roster features the Women Strawweight Bout with Joanna “JJ” Jedrzejczyk facing off Michelle “Karate Hottie” Waterson at the octagon. To add on to the electrifying main event, the co-main event will showcase Featherweight contenders Cub Swanson and Kron Gracie.

Women Strawweight (Main Event) - Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Michelle Waterson

This time UFC Fight Night 161 will be welcoming back the master of her title, Jedrzejczyk, who is aiming to re-affirm her standing as one of the top contenders in the Strawweight Division after losing three out of four fights, all in the championship bouts.

After losing twice to Rose Namajunas, it seems difficult to imagine Joanna in another Strawweight title match any time soon, but the only dominant champion the division has ever had is Jedrzejczyk. That is why, it is said that if Michelle Waterson loses this one, it’ll be pretty hard to deny her another crack at the gold anytime soon.

Suffering back-to-back losses to Rose Namajunas and Tecia Torres in 2017, Michelle Waterson has discovered the best form of her career, carrying a three-fight winning streak capped by her most impressive performance to date.

The 33-year-old who is on a mission to become the UFC’s first #MomChamp, is splendid with her ground work and being able to control opponents and keeping them grounded while also threatening with submissions.

Proceeding in different directions, it will be interesting to see if Waterson can maintain her tremendous form of late and hand the former titleholder another defeat or whether Jedrzejczyk can rediscover the form that made her one of the most feared competitors on the roster till date.

Featherweight  Bout (Co-Main Event) - Cub Swanson and Kron Gracie

The Featherweight category under the Co-main event will host another interesting roster featuring Cub Swanson facing off Kronn Gracie, the heir of the Gracie legacy.

One of the best strikers in the 145lbs division, Swanson chains combinations together at a ridiculous rate and throws strikes from unusual angles, something that has allowed him to defeat accomplished strikers like Jeremy Stephens and Dustin Poirier.

Swanson with his 17 UFC appearances, has a rough score of about 25 total bouts under his umbrella of experience so far. He is one of the senior statesmen in the featherweight division who has fought everyone there is to fight in the 145-pound weight class and done just about everything there is to do, to reign his title in this fight.

On the contrary, Kron, the latest member of MMA’s family to debut in the UFC, marked his first effort far superior to the ones put forward by the likes of Rolles and Roger, is now stepping in with a veteran like Cub Swanson after just five professional fights. However having said that, the critics have commented that Kron with sharp boxing skills, calculative moves along with a solid jab still has a lot to bridge ahead as he will not be mistaken for a professional kickboxer any time soon.

The striking difference in experience is what makes this contest so compelling. Those who want to dismiss Swanson because he enters on a four-fight skid do so mistakenly, as “Killer Cub” remains a dangerous threat, just as those forecasting a championship future for Gracie may be doing so a little hastily.

Watch UFC Fight Night 161 featuring Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs Michelle Waterson Live and Exclusive in India on 13th October 2019, 05:30 am (IST) onwards on SONY TEN 2 & SONY TEN 2 HD, SONY TEN 3 & SONY TEN 3 HD (Hindi) channels.

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