UFC 228: 5 reasons why you need to watch the undercard

#3 We could see a title challenger named at Women’s Strawweight

Karolina Kowalkiewicz could earn a title shot at UFC 228

The second fight on the main card of UFC 228 will see a clash of two former title challengers at Women’s Strawweight, as Karolina Kowalkiewicz takes on Jessica Andrade. What makes this fight so interesting isn’t so much that both women are high-level competitors, but more that the winner is almost definitely next in line to fight champion Rose Namajunas for the title.

It could be argued that Andrade has already earned a title shot – after losing to Joanna Jedrzejczyk in her first title opportunity, she’s reeled off two straight wins over top ranked opponents in Claudia Gadelha and Tecia Torres.

Like Andrade, Kowalkiewicz has won two fights to bounce back from her own loss to Jedrzejczyk, but while her opponents (Felice Herrig and Jodie Esquibel) weren’t as highly ranked as Andrade’s, she does have an ace up her sleeve – a previous win over Namajunas.

On paper this looks like a tough fight for Kowalkiewicz, as she seems to be at a disadvantage in terms of strength and power, and Andrade’s cardio has also proven to be phenomenal at 115lbs. But the Polish fighter has always shown that she can adjust during a fight – witness her domination of Namajunas in the clinch after struggling with Rose’s rangy striking early on – and she also did something that Andrade was unable to do – knock Jedrzejczyk down during their fight.

The UFC will probably be hoping Kowalkiewicz wins this one as she’s a far more marketable talent, but regardless, the winner will probably be facing Namajunas next, which means it’s a high-stakes fight for sure.