Five months ago, Rose Namajunas scored one of the greatest upsets of 2017, knocking out Joanna Jedrzejczyk in the first round of a strawweight title fight.
On Saturday, she'll try to prove it was no fluke.
In the wake of her first professional loss, Jedrzejczyk (14-1) revealed she had suffered through a bad weight cut, which negatively impacted her performance. The former champ has since revamped her nutritional team.
Will it make a difference at UFC 223? Or will Namajunas (7-3) further cement herself as the No. 1 strawweight in the world? ESPN asked some of the sport's top coaches to break it down.
Mark Henry, New Jersey striking coach
I'm so excited for that fight. I'm looking forward to that fight more than any other. Joanna wants her title back in the worst way, but if Rose has the same confidence as before, she'll do well. Joanna is tough. She's a fighter's fighter. She'll fight anyone, anytime. Maybe she won't come as aggressive as before, work on setting things up better. Rose has a terrific coach in Trevor Wittman. I love her movement and that she has an overall game. She reminds me of Frankie Edgar a little bit. I can't make a prediction on this one.
Danny Castillo, Team Alpha Male
I'm really excited about this one, but, to be honest, I think it's going to be the same outcome. Before Rose finished the last fight, she had Joanna hurt a couple times. Rose has been in the game a long time now and she's faced different adversities, whereas for Joanna, I don't think she's had to face an opponent with a good ground game and good standup.
No one was talking about Rose's standup before the first fight, except for the people who know the fight game and know Wittman is a genius with the pads. Unlike the first fight, Joanna has two things to worry about now: Rose's ground game and her own chin. Her chin has been tested now, and Rose is accurate with those hooks and straights.
I think it's a more nerve-wracking fight for Joanna than Rose this time. I like her feints and her angles. Everyone is scared of Joanna when she comes forward; they are always retreating. Rose did a little counterpunching and kept Joanna on her toes with the feints. I've got Rose in the second round.
Duane Ludwig, Ludwig Martial Arts
Joanna may have started to believe in her own hype before the last one. And that's fine; it's good to believe you're the best. But it seemed like she was focused more on her opponent than herself. Focus on improving yourself, and when the time comes, you'll shine and let it go. But if you're peeking over your neighbor's fence and not watching your own yard, you forget about the weeds.
I don't know about Joanna's preparations, but leading up to that fight, it sounded like she was looking at Rose too much. And I know Rose doesn't do that. Wittman is, by far, the most detail-oriented coach I've ever come across. We know Rose has the power now, plus the timing and accuracy. I see Rose winning again, but we'll find out.
Javier Mendez, American Kickboxing Academy
I'm kind of torn a little bit with Joanna. I would say it comes down to the precision punching we saw from Rose in November, but after seeing videos and comments about how disastrous Joanna's weight cut was, I have to say that probably played a factor. My feeling is this is a brand-new fight.
Joanna is aggressive, and when she smells blood, she goes for it. Rose is the same, but she's not as seasoned a striker. I think Joanna's takedown defense is very good. I don't think Rose is dominant enough there to have her way, unless she hurts her first.
This is a huge mental challenge for Joanna. Huge. She's got that working against her, for sure. Those demons you get facing someone who has beat you before, looking back on it and trying to figure out what was real and what you only think is real, there's a lot going on with that.
For whatever reason, I see Joanna taking her title back. I just feel like I didn't see the real Joanna the first time, and this time we're going to see the real one. I see her edging it out, probably decision.
Duke Roufus, Roufusport
It was so good to see Rose reach her potential in the last fight. The key factor was that she didn't buy into the bogeyman that was Joanna. Some fighters, when they face a Joanna or Conor McGregor, they have to learn to put the silencers on. Mike Tyson said it best: "I don't intimidate you before the fight, I intimidate you by hitting you." Rose did a good job with that.
There have been reports about Joanna's bad weight cut, and you could tell it affected her. I was surprised she didn't do what her countrywoman Karolina Kowalkiewicz did to Rose, which was move into that Thai clinch. Rose's coach, Wittman, is one of the youngest coaches to ever coach a boxing champion, let alone the work he's done with boxing in MMA. I thought that was a poor decision on Joanna's behalf to step right into Rose's battlefield. Why face someone on the field of infantry if that is their best skill? Kick more from the outside, then clinch, knee, elbow.
The problem with success -- and I know this personally -- when you have a lot of it, the first time you don't have it, it really messes with you. I think that's going to be pivotal in this fight. Joanna has to get back to form. That's the toughest test in rematches when you've lost your title. I don't always agree with jumping right back into the same beast that stole your heart.
Jimmy Gifford, Las Vegas striking coach
I'm a little biased toward Rose, as I've spent some time with her. She was different than what I thought, listening to some old interviews. I know there's this whole "Thug Rose" thing, but she's really a rose. She's a sweet, sweet girl.
I can sit here and tell you why I think Joanna can win. I think she'll use distance more, use the jab more than she did. I think she'll respect Rose's power this time and make adjustments.
Rematches are a funny thing. Historically, the person who wins the first one usually wins the second one. It's rare that it turns around. But this is a pick-'em fight to me.
Firas Zahabi, Tristar MMA
I feel like Rose has just found another level. She has fixed the errors in her game, and I think Joanna's style -- that cover-up, peek-a-boo, very orthodox Muay Thai style -- just doesn't match up well with Rose's powerful boxing and forward pressure.
I give a 55-45 edge to Rose. If it goes to the ground, it's an 80-20 advantage to Rose. If Rose stays mentally strong, I think she will win. However, I do feel Joanna Jedrzejczyk's experience gives her a mental advantage. I feel Rose is still more susceptible to getting discouraged. But if she stays encouraged the entire fight, she'll win.
Jedrzejczyk cannot be on her back foot. She sometimes puts all her weight on the back foot, and when you do that, you can get lit up by a boxer. Boxers do not put their weight on the back foot and they do not stand upright. They're bladed to the side, that Diaz brother stance, and leaning toward the trail leg. There's an angle to it. Joanna is straight up, and her position is squared. When you do that, you're vulnerable to punchers.
The reason Muay Thai fighters stand like that is they are always fighting other good kickers. However, when you face someone who is a great puncher, you don't want to stand like that. That's why I give the edge to Rose, because I think there is a fundamental issue there. Jedrzejczyk is not fighting another kicker, but she's standing like she is.
Izzy Martinez, Izzy Style Wrestling
It's interesting because there are no excuses now. Before, everybody kind of understands weight cutting sucks, they can attest to that, and maybe that affected Joanna. But any excuses are over. So just look at this from the technical side, and Joanna needs to improve. She has to improve her striking and she probably understands she's going to get taken down at some point.
She probably underestimated how tough Rose was, but if she goes out there and tries to overcome that with mental games, that's not going to work. I think Rose will knock her out in the third round.