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Going into UFC 217, the story of the Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s strawweight title fight was a familiar one: champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk was looking to extend her undefeated record and unprecedented dominance over the division against the heavy underdog Rose Namajunas. The challenger, of course, had her own story working her way to a title shot, but the fight was to most people watching just another title defense for Jedrzejczyk.
That changed in a big way in a shocking 183 seconds. Namajunas pulverized Jedrzejczyk with strikes, and “Joanna Champion” appeared to tap to them before the referee mercifully stepped in. All of a sudden, details which had been in the periphery came to the forefront. Was the way that Jedrzejczyk went after opponents psychologically before fights charming, or was it a sign of hubris? Was Jedrzejczyk confident, or was she a bully?
Much of this is completely subjective, but fans are won over by victories. The stories of careers are framed through key results. Take for example pivotal fights for a pair of the UFC’s biggest all-time superstars: Georges St. Pierre and Ronda Rousey. In each case, they came off of a big loss and were given a pivotal opportunity at redemption. Those redemption fights went markedly different for each and that in turn greatly shifted the perception of their previous losses, as well as the careers of their opponents.
If there is one fight that most resembles Jedrzejczyk’s loss to Namajunas, it is St. Pierre’s loss to Matt Serra in 2007. In each case, the heavily favored champion was shocked by a knockout loss to a relatively unheralded challenger in a little over three minutes. After the loss, negative narratives popped up about St. Pierre: that he was mentally weak, that he let success go to his head and that he didn’t deal well with adversity. This ultimately led to one of the most anticipated rematches in Ultimate Fighting Championship history at UFC 83, where St. Pierre of course took care of business and dominated Serra in front of his hometown fans.
If St. Pierre had lost to Serra again, some of those narratives might have persisted. Instead, they were emphatically dismissed. St. Pierre hasn’t lost since and the first Serra fight is viewed mostly as an anomaly. This turn of events also substantially altered the outcome of Serra’s career. He is still remembered best for the St. Pierre win, but for many fans, he is less the ultimate Rocky story and more simply a notable St. Pierre rival because of how the second fight went. Serra feels like he should be more of a beloved figure in 2018, given that he has a notable personal charm about him and has one of the greatest underdog stories in the history of the sport. Part of that may simply be his New York bravado, which is taken differently depending on one’s life outlook. However, a big part is unquestionably the way his second fight with St. Pierre went. He knowingly played the role of villain for St. Pierre and got steamrolled, much to the delight of a rabid Montreal crowd. The first St. Pierre-Serra fight is unquestionably better remembered, but their rematch was the one that ultimately decided the overall story.
Rousey’s second round knockout loss to Holly Holm was another all-time shocker, similar to Jedrzejczyk-Namajunas and St. Pierre-Serra. Like Jedrzejczyk and St. Pierre, she returned looking for redemption. Unfortunately for Rousey, her return against Amanda Nunes was just about the polar opposite of St. Pierre’s rematch with Serra. Nunes picked her apart with strikes even more quickly than Holm, and a devastated Rousey left the sport for other endeavors.
After the Holm fight, the narrative about Rousey was that she was a dominant champion who had fallen in a monumental upset. If Rousey had beaten Nunes, the Holm fight likely wouldn’t have been viewed as an anomaly but it would at least have been a blip on a distinguished career. Rightly or wrongly, the Nunes loss created a whole different story, with commentators questioning the quality of Rousey’s original wins and whether she was ever as good as her billing. If Rousey had left the sport after the Holm fight, she would have been viewed differently than she was after the Nunes fight, which cemented negative perceptions about what the Holm fight was.
The examples of St. Pierre and Rousey underscore why the Namajunas-Jedrzejczyk bout at UFC 223 is such an important one for both fighters. Their previous contest was arguably the most memorable fight in each of their careers, and the rematch will help observers decide what to make of it. Broadly different conclusions could be drawn depending on what happens.
For Namajunas, it’s the opportunity to make the story about her. If she defeats Jedrzejczyk again, she will have proven herself better than the fighter who was perceived to be far and away the best in the history of her division. It will be the story of the soft-spoken and kind-hearted person who stood up to the bully and put her in her place. Namajunas is the champion going into this rematch, but Jedrzejczyk is the betting favorite and perceived as the A-side. If Namajunas wins again, not only will she have a second big victory but the first win will itself become bigger.
While Namajunas has a nice story in her own right, so, too, did Serra, and it became enveloped by the greater feats of St. Pierre. This is what Jedrzejczyk hopes to do to Namajunas. Jedrzejczyk has been dismissive of the first loss and is clearly energized by the opportunity to avenge the defeat. If Jedrzejczyk can get vengeance less than six months after her first defeat, that loss can almost serve to bolster her reputation by demonstrating her ability to come back from adversity. Moreover, she can extinguish any discussion of her being a bully of frontrunner by besting the champion who knocked her out.
When Namajunas and Jedrzejczyk first fought in November, the stakes didn’t appear to be that high at the time. In actuality, it will likely end up being a crucial fight for both competitors. There’s no confusion when it comes to the importance of the rematch. This will be a critical bout, not only in terms of the fight itself but also in terms of defining what the first fight meant and what the future holds for both women. The loser is unlikely to find the resulting narrative appealing, but that’s what makes winning so important.
Todd Martin has written about mixed martial arts since 2002 for a variety of outlets, including CBSSports.com, SI.com, ESPN.com, the Los Angeles Times, MMApayout.com, Fight Magazine and Fighting Spirit Magazine. He has appeared on a number of radio stations, including ESPN affiliates in New York and Washington, D.C., and HDNet’s “Inside MMA” television show. In addition to his work at Sherdog.com, he does a weekly podcast with Wade Keller at PWTorch.com and blogs regularly at LaTimes.com. Todd received his BA from Vassar College in 2003 and JD from UCLA School of Law in 2007 and is a licensed attorney. He has covered UFC, Pride, Bellator, Affliction, IFL, WFA, Strikeforce, WEC and K-1 live events. He believes deeply in the power of MMA to heal the world and bring happiness to all of its people.