While the lasting memory of Joanna Jedrzejczyk's war with Weili Zhang in the co-main event of UFC 248 from Las Vegas' T-Mobile Arena will be the 25 minutes of high-level brawling between the two, the massive hematoma on Jedrzejczyk's forehead will be referenced for years to come. Jedrzejczyk was caught with a brutal punch from Zhang, immediately raising swelling across Jedrzejczyk's entire forehead, swelling that would continue to grow more and more as the fight continued and Jedrzejczyk took more punishment in the back-and-forth war.
By the end of the fight, Jedrzejczyk's head no longer resembled the shape associated with the standard human body. The swelling was so massive that Jedrzejczyk admitted it began to affect her each time she took another shot.
Before ➡ after.
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 8, 2020
UNREAL 😳 #UFC248 pic.twitter.com/WCy13lyTxW
Nothing but respect. 👏
— UFC (@ufc) March 8, 2020
🇵🇱 @JoannaMMA #UFC248 pic.twitter.com/uEkrP7JnsO
Fans and other fighters alike lost their minds at the sight of the swelling. The two fighters combined for 351 strikes landed, which is the third most in UFC history. The swelling will take a place alongside the infamous Hasim Rahman hematoma suffered after clashing heads with Evander Holyfield, though may be even more impressive as it began from a single, legal strike.
Zhang ultimately took the split decision by scores of 48-47, 48-47 and 47-48.
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It remains unclear what would be next for Jedrzejczyk after dropping her fourth title fight. She's clearly still an elite fighter in the strawweight division, but has now come up short against the top of the division too many times in a row.