Without a doubt undefeated UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk (13-0-0) is one of the most dominant champions in combat sports right now. She defeated Carla Esparza via round 2 KO back in March 2015 to claim the title. Since then she’s defended it four times, with dominant victories over the likes of Jessica Penne, Valerie Letourneau, Claudia Gadelha and Karolina Kowalkiewicz. The 29 year old Polish star has cleaned out almost all the top contenders in her division. However, every fighter is beatable and we believe there are five emerging stars who could give the champ a real challenge.



Jessica Andrade (15-5-0)

Brazil’s Andrade is a former Bantamweight and has recently moved down to the Strawweight division. Since being at Strawweight Andrade has looked incredible. She dominated Jessica Penne to a Round 2 TKO win, it took the champ three rounds. She recently fought Scottish standout Joanne Calderwood and effortlessly took her down to the ground and a vicious attack followed, eventually submitting her in round 2. Jedrzejczyk is going to have a very hard time dealing with Andrade’s power. We’ve seen with the Gadelha fight that Joanna can easily be taken down when faced with a powerful grappler, and Andrade is quite possibly a lot more powerful considering she has moved down from bantamweight. Andrade is most likely next in line. However, as always the UFC may have other plans.

Michelle Waterson (14-4-0)

The entire MMA world is talking about the former Invicta FC atomweight champion after she defeated Paige VanZant in the main event of UFC on Fox 22 via a round 1 choke. Waterson is skilled in every area of mixed martial arts and enjoys finishing her opponents, with twelve of her wins coming by stoppage. Waterson has a very marketable image, and has a lot of hype, thanks to her latest win over a fan favourite. Two things which the UFC loves in their top female stars. Don’t be surprised to see the organisation give her the title shot before you might expect.

Alexa Grasso (9-0-0)

Mexico’s Grasso is just 23 years old and has been dominating the competition at Invicta FC. She made her debut in the UFC just over a month ago, delivering a vicious beat down to veteran Heather Jo-Clark. Grasso is a world class boxer, with a ton of power in her hands. She often leaves opponents battered and bloodied up. Jedrzejczyk was severely rocked at UFC 205 against Karolina during round 4. Grasso has far better boxing than Kowalkiewicz and more power. The champ will have a hard time taking on Grasso. The Mexican needs a few more wins until she receives a title shot, however the UFC has been desperate to tap into the Mexican market and Grasso may possibly be the superstar they are searching for.

Tatiana Suarez (4-0-0)

Meet the female Khabib, it’s world class wrestler, Tatiana Suarez. Suarez competed on The Ultimate Fighter 23 and dominated the competition, effortlessly wrestling them to the ground and absolutely mauling them. She went on to defeat Amanda ‘ABC’ Cooper at the TUF 23 finale via Round 1 Brabo Choke. Suarez is a phenomenal wrestler, she’s a 4 x High School Wrestling National Champion and 2 x World Medalist in Freestyle Wrestling. She doesn’t just take you to the ground, she destroys you once there. Jedrzejczyk will find it difficult to defend the takedowns of Tatiana Suarez and would be in for a rough night if this fight was to take place. Suarez hasn’t competed since the TUF 23 finale, she’ll need a few big wins in 2017 in order to receive a title shot.

Rose Namajunas (5-3-0)

The “thug” is one of the most popular strawweights in the division right now. She faced off against Karolina Kowalkiewicz in a title eliminator earlier this year, coming up short via split decision. A few big wins in 2017 could definitely see her earn herself a title shot towards the end of the year. Four of her five victories come by submission which include rear-naked-choke’s and a flying armbar. She has improved immensely since her days on The Ultimate Fighter. Since coming to the UFC she holds impressive victories over Invicta FC champion Angela Hill, Paige VanZant as well as successfully avenging a loss against Tecia Torres.

Who would you like to see challenge Joanna Jedrzjedczyk for the UFC strawweight championship in 2017? Let us know in the comments below.

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