4-6, 6-3 triumph over Belgiums Kirsten Flipkens, while Ste

On December 13, 2014, one night after Carla Esparza was crowned the inaugural womens strawweight champion in Las Vegas, Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Claudia Gadelha battled to a paper-thin split decision on the undercard of a UFC card in Phoenix.It was a back-and-forth battle, with Jedrzejczyk dropping Gadelha with an uppercut in the final seconds of the first round. According to FightMetric, Gadelha landed more total strikes, 59-47, but Jedrzejczyk did better with significant strikes, 38-27. Gadelha also completed seven takedowns on 16 attempts, but two of the three judges saw the fight in favor of the Polish kickboxer.Fast forward to now: Jedrzejczyk is the 115-pound champion after dominating Esparza last March to win the title before successfully defending the belt twice. Gadelha has fought once since, a victory by way of a unanimous decision against Jessica Aguilar in August.Their paths met yet again as coaches in the 23rd season of The Ultimate Fighter, which is where the rivalry between the two really ramped up. Looking back on their journey from the prelims nearly two years ago to the main event of Fridays TUF Finale in Las Vegas, ESPN.com spoke with the top two fighters in the strawweight division about their first fight, the rematch and their relationship.Your first fight was very close, with Jedrzejczyk getting the split decision. Regardless of what the judges said, why do you feel you won that fight?Gadelha: If you watch the fight, youre going to see me grinding Joanna in the first round. The whole time, I took her down. I got to her head first, move to the mount, side control. The last 10 seconds of the first round, she got an uppercut and knocked me down. But then if you stop and see the last two rounds, I was grinding her the whole time, taking her down, keeping her in the wall. She didnt really do anything.If you really talk about the striking part, I was putting pressure on her, fighting her back the whole time. The only thing that she did was the knockdown in the last 10 seconds of the first round. The fighting kind of went by the round. I really think I won the last two rounds.Jedrzejczyk: You know that my first fight with Claudia Gadelha was close but I know that I won that fight and so many people who watched that fight, they said that I won that fight. [But] you never can discuss with the judges, you know? You must step into the Octagon and do your best. When I was waiting for the announcement for the decision of that fight, I was like talking to myself that I did my job. Joanna, you did great. You came here as an underdog. You dropped Claudia on the end of the first chance, and you won that fight. Its all up to the judges how they saw the fight. And they were right.They gave me the decision, I won that fight. It was a split decision but still, I won that fight. Claudia shouldnt complain about it anymore. She can blame just herself. When you step into the Octagon, you must make sure that youre going to do your job and thats all.In what ways are you a better fighter since the first bout?Gadelha: Im a whole different fighter. If you watch my last fight with Jessica Aguilar, I showed that I was different but now its even a lot more. Now its almost two years since we fought the first time and Ive been working so hard to get this fight and to show everybody who really won the first match. So I think everything I do, everything I did in this fight I can do better now. Im way better. And Ive proved a lot with my striking.Jedrzejczyk: I became a champion. I became a different fighter after the fight with Claudia Gadelha. I fought three times. I fought for 11 rounds. Claudia Galdelha has just one fight. With Jessica Aguilar, she fought three rounds. She has been talking that she became a better fighter, that she is more complete than she was last time. You know you can be the master and the champion of the kick back, you can be the champion of training session, you can be the champion of the sparring. All of what you can prove and what you should prove is the fight.How has the experience taping The Ultimate Fighter affected your relationship?Gadelha: Being with her, around her, dealing with her on The Ultimate Fighter was good to see how she is. Because I knew she was very disrespectful, now Im sure she that she is disrespectful. I grew up under the BJJ philosophy under martial arts, I learned how to respect people, to respect my opponent, coaches, kids, adults -- everybody. Thats what I learned under the philosophy of martial arts. And Joanna, she didnt care about that, she was disrespectful. She disrespected me a lot. She was trying to bully me the whole time and I didnt even pay attention. I caught her trying to disrespect my coaches. She really showed it as she was not only playing around trying to play mind games, she was being disrespectful. Thats how she is.Jedrzejczyk: I saw Claudia every day. We had some better and worse days, but I just did my job. Sometimes you accept one person more, others less. Definitely, Claudia is a person who I dont like but I respect her as a fighter because shes very, very good, lots of skills, lots of experience and she can fight really tough.After the first fight you appeared to be very respectful to each other. Was there a specific moment when that changed?Gadelha: When she got the belt. She got the belt, she put like a mask on her face. She tried to do things she never did before. I know that she has always tried getting into her opponents mind but she started to be very disrespectful with everybody once she got the belt. So I think that the belt was a mask for her face to show who she really is.Jedrzejczyk:?She cannot handle it, that shes not the champion. She would like to be in my spot. We had a really slow first fight. She feels that she could be in my spot but she didnt do enough for this. Okay, maybe she deserves to fight for this title. She is No. 1 in the rankings but she cannot forget that there is a champion and I am that champion. She cant handle it [that] she didnt do enough, she didnt do enough. There are so many girls who I suppose should get the chance to fight for the title, but OK, Claudia Gadelha deserves it. Lets do this, and shes going to see and feel, thats all.What would a win in this rematch mean to you?Gadelha: It would mean the world. I have been through a lot to get to today. Ive fought so hard to live my dream. If you know my history, Ive been through a lot to get to this title fight. It would be my dream. Its going to mean everything. For my life, for everything that Ive sacrificed to be here today, for my family and for people that I love.Jedrzejczyk: It means a lot for me because Im going to prove to myself, to Claudia, to other people that there is only one champion. There is only one real champion and its me. Nike Shoes Wholesale Free Shipping . The Canadian squad, skipped by Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg, got on the board first with two in the second end, and followed that with two more apiece in the fourth and sixth ends. Cheap Authentic Nike Shoes Wholesale . Ancelotti says Ronaldo has recovered from a hamstring injury but "but he doesnt feel comfortable yet so we wont risk him." Madrid is third in the Spanish league, six points behind leader Barcelona, going into Saturdays game against Valladolid. http://www.nikeshoesfromchina.com/ . Patrice Bergeron and Daniel Paille scored 20 seconds apart a few minutes after Stamkos was taken off the ice on a stretcher with a broken right leg, and the Bruins beat the Lightning 3-0 on Monday afternoon. Nike Shoes From China . Burke is expected to miss two to three months after breaking a finger in the teams third preseason game. Tinsley, a 10-year veteran, spent the last two seasons in Utah, where the point guard averaged 3. Wholesale Nike Shoes China . Rousey will put her perfect 8-0 record and hardware on the line against another undefeated fighter, 7-0 Sara McMann in the main event of UFC 170, which will be held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas Nevada on February 22nd.Paris, France (Sports Network) - Serena Williams once again encountered little resistance in a third-round rout Friday at the French Open. The top-seeded American blasted Romanias Sorana Cirstea with a 6-0, 6-2 romp in 61 minutes. She won 61 of the 94 total points played, broke serve five times and saved three break points against her serve. Williams ran her career-best winning streak to 27 straight matches and is 70-3 overall since suffering a shocking first-round loss to Virginie Razzano at Roland Garros last year. Theres been no hint of trouble for the 2002 champ this year, as Williams has dropped just six games in her first three matches. "I definitely feel like Im getting into that zone that I have always wanted to be in (at the French Open)," said Williams, who hasnt even reached the semifinals in Paris since 2003. Williams will next play Italys Roberta Vinci. The 15th seed moved on with a 6-1, 2-6, 6-2 triumph over Petra Cetkovska of the Czech Republic. There were no weather issues on Friday, allowing for the completion of the second round in addition to the start of the third. Thursdays rain delays forced a number of second-round matches into Friday. Maria Sharapova, the defending champion and this years second seed, had to come back Friday to complete her second-round match against Canadas Eugenie Bouchard. The Russian star did just that, taking only 15 minutes to finish a 6-2, 6-4 triumph. Russias Maria Kirilenko and Frrenchwoman Marion Bartoli also moved on with second-round wins Friday.dddddddddddd The 12th-seeded Kirilenko blitzed Australias Ashleigh Barty, 6-3, 6-1, while the 13th-seeded Bartoli battled past Colombias Mariana Duque-Marino, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5. Francesca Schiavone, the 2010 French winner and 2011 runner-up, also posted a second-round win with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 triumph over Belgiums Kirsten Flipkens, while Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland outlasted Estoniaa Kaia Kanepi, 7-6 (8-6), 3-6, 8-6. Another third-round winner Friday was fifth-seeded Italian Sara Errani. The 2012 French Open runner-up thumped Germanys Sabine Lisicki, 6-0, 6-4. Shell next play Spains Carla Suarez Navarro, a 6-4, 7-5 winner over Puerto Ricos Monica Puig. Fourth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska finished the days proceedings with a 6-3, 6-4 win over German Dinah Pfizenmaier and will next square off against 2008 champion Ana Ivanovic. The 14th-seeded Serb earned a 6-3, 6-2 pasting of Razzano. Another former champion, 2009 winner Svetlana Kuznetsova, also advanced Friday with a 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) victory over Serbias Bojana Jovanovski. The Russian veteran will next face eighth-seeded Angelique Kerber, who outlasted American Varvara Lepchenko, 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 6-4. Third-round play continues Saturday with eight more matches. Sharapova will return to action against Chinas Zheng Jie, while third-seeded Victoria Azarenka will battle the crowd as well as Frances Alize Cornet. ' ' '