Joanna Jedrzejczyk is widely regarded to have the best hands in the UFC's strawweight division. And though the Polish star showed plenty of stuff with her fists, it was her kicks that led her to a unanimous decision victory over a game Valerie Letourneau in the co-main event of UFC 193 at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.
Jedrzejczyk was a 20-to-1 favorite to return her title, but Letourneau made her work for it. She showed an incredible chin and took at least three front kicks to the face from the champion. Letourneau's right eye was closed and badly swollen, while her left leg was full of welts.
Judges scored it 49-46, 50-45 and 49-46 for Jedrzejczyk. Yahoo Sports had it 50-45 for the champion.
"They're not all going to be easy when you're fighting the best in the world," Jedrzejczyk said after her second successful title defense.
Letourneau came out strong early and was firing punches at the champion. Letourneau had a reach and size advantage and seemed to throw Jedrzejczyk off briefly in the opening seconds with her aggressiveness.
About two minutes into the fight, though, Jedrzejczyk landed a lightning quick kick to the face that sent Letourneau stumbling back. She didn't go down, but was clearly rocked.

From that point on, Jedrzejczyk made a point of going to the kicks hard. She scored a lot of points by chopping at Letourneau's legs, mixing in the occasional 1-2.
Letourneau nearly broke down in tears afterward, but she did herself proud, fighting far better than the oddsmakers believed she could.
The victory sets up a showdown for Jedrzejczyk with No. 1 contender Claudia Gadelha. Jedrzejczyk nipped Gadelha last year in a very close fight.