5 potential opponents for Joanna Jedrzejczyk's return fight
Joanna Jedrzejczyk is in contention to be the UFC women's strawweight GOAT. She first won the belt in 2015 and successfully defended it a record five consecutive times. While she has been away from the octagon for some time now, it is expected the former champ will return in the early part of 2022.
The Polish fighter has become one of the biggest UFC names and her return fight needs to be against a quality opponent. The Pole lost her last outing in the UFC, a slobber knocker against Zhang Weili.
She was also recently removed from the UFC rankings due to inactivity. However, you can be confident that she will only be fighting the division's elite upon her return.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk’s removal from the UFC rankings is due to inactivity, I’m told. She’s still on the roster and will be reinserted when she returns to competition. Likely around March 2022. https://t.co/0y7dDFBEUV
Her return fight will also provide a major opportunity to whoever her next opponent ends up being. Every Joanna Jedrzeczyk fight draws plenty of attention and, as her last fight proved, a win over her can elevate a fighter's status.
With plenty of options out there, here are five potential opponents for Joanna Jedrzejczyk's return fight:
#5. Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. winner of Marina Rodriguez/ Yan Xionan
Jedrzejczyk has stated that she is in a place in her career where she only wants to fight opponents who interest her. While neither Marina Rodriguez nor Yan Xionan carry much name value just yet, perhaps one of them will be able to put on a performance in their upcoming fight that changes that.
@MarinaRodriguezMMA vs 
@Xiaonan_Yan ] @ T-Mobile Arena instagram.com/p/CYFNCw1JUkN/…Marina Rodriguez vs Yan Xionan is booked for #UFC272 on March 5.
[ 🇧🇷 @MarinaRodriguezMMA vs 🇨🇳 @Xiaonan_Yan ] @ T-Mobile Arena instagram.com/p/CYFNCw1JUkN/…
The pair are due to fight at UFC 272 on March 5 in what is a significant bout in the strawweight division. Rodriguez and Xionan are ranked third and fourth respectively and interestingly both fighters have only suffered one UFC loss each, coming at the hands of Carla Esparza in both cases.
With the winner of this fight set to become one of the elite names in the division, perhaps the former champion would then be tempted to take them on. With that being said, the timeline here may create some issues as the Polish fighter was keen to return to action around March or April herself.