Joanna Jedrzejczyk includes Ronda Rousey, Amanda Nunes, Valentina Shevchenko and herself in Mt. Rushmore of female UFC fighters
There's been a lot of talk lately about which female fighters deserve to be on the Mount Rushmore of women's MMA. Now former champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk is sharing her four candidates.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk may be newly retired from the UFC, but that didn't stop her from traveling to Las Vegas for International Fight Week and hanging out at the UFC Fan Expo.
While on the convention center floor, she ran into 'The Schmo,' who asked her which four legendary women she'd carve into a mountainside. She replied:
"Myself. Ronda Rousey number one, me, and Amanda Nunes, who became the first champion in two different weight classes. So definitely. And Valentina [Shevchenko] as well. So I put Ronda, Valentina, Amanda, and then me."
Watch Joanna Jedrzejczyk's full interview below:
This has been a topic of debate brought up by 'The Schmo' in the past. He asked AKA head coach Javier Mendez who he saw on a Women's MMA Mount Rushmore.
Interestingly, Mendez refused to boil it down to just four fighters. In addition to Jedrzejczyk, Shevchenko, Nunes, and Rousey, he also added Cris Cyborg, Zhang Weili, and Holly Holm.
It’s going under the radar in MMA circles, but former UFC bantamweight champion Holly Holm is being inducted into the boxing Hall of Fame in a truly legendary class.
To be so accomplished that one is a HOF boxer and UFC champion is truly remarkable. https://t.co/GPmkVg90aj
Joanna Jedrzejczyk suggests Carla Esparza "might be scared" of fighting Zhang Weili
Joanna Jedrzejczyk was licking her lips when faced with the possibility that she might get to fight Carla Esparza for the women's 125 pound title. Jedrzejczyk took the belt off Esparza in violent fashion back in 2015, and it was clear she saw the same thing happening seven years later.
Unfortunately for Jedrzejczyk, she lost to Zhang Weili at UFC 275 by getting knocked out in the second round with a spinning backfist. Now it's Zhang who will get to face Esparza next, according to Jedrzejczyk. In a new interview with 'The Schmo', she said:
"We've been told that one of us, the winner of our fight, mine and Weili, was going to be the next challenger for the UFC strawweight belt. So definitely Weili Zhang deserves the title shot. And I know that Carla might be scared, but it's her choice, you know? It's her choice. She's the champ, so yep. She's the champ, so she can decide somehow [laugh]. They will force her to fight her."
Carla Esparza has said that Marina Rodriguez, who is currently on a four-fight win streak, deserves a title shot more than Weili Zhang, whose win over Jedrzejczyk breaks back-to-back losses to Rose Namajunas.
However, not all wins and losses are alike. The UFC clearly considers Zhang's latest win over Jedrzejczyk to be impressive enough to step right into the No.1 contender's spot.
youtu.be/oHfZRiGMWOs.@joannamma predicts Zhang Weili will finish Carla Esparza in the first round.
"I truly feel that [Zhang] is going to be the champ."
Full #UFC275 post-fight scrum ▶️ youtu.be/oHfZRiGMWOs https://t.co/np8Yooci53