"Look what happened to Rose and Carla" - Joanna Jedrzejczyk explains what sets her apart in the UFC strawweight division
Joanna Jedrzejczyk has been absent from the octagon for more than two years since she last fought Zhang Weili in Match 2020. She lost the bout via judges' decision after a five-round war which also resulted in a huge hematoma forming on her forehead.
While the former UFC women’s strawweight champion was unable to compete after that due to the pandemic, the division itself went through some changes. The title changed hands twice, with Carla Esparza becoming the champion once more. According to the Polish fighter, she stands out from the rest due to her exciting fighting style.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk is now back in the mix as she rematches Zhang Weili again at the upcoming UFC 275 taking place on June 11. The winner of the bout will receive a shot at Esparza's strawweight title.
In a lead-up to this title eliminator, the ATT member sat down with Daniel Cormier to discuss various topics. One of them being a potential title shot.
The Pole said that the fighter should be entertaining so that fans would want to watch the bouts. One way to do it is to fight with tenacity and never give up on being the aggressor. She added:
“Because I never like give up and I always put on a hell of a fight, performance and fight, I make the fights look good. Look what happened to Rose and Carla.”
Watch Joanna Jedrzejczyk talk about the strawweight division in the video below:
Jedrzejczyk was referring to Namajunas and Esparza's infamous rematch bout at UFC 274. The fight reached its’ 25 minute mark with little action taking place inside the octagon. This led to fans' outrage with one of them stating that he can’t wait for Joanna Jedrzejczyk to save the division.
I’m on my way! @ufc https://t.co/rLV4cUVEaT
Joanna Jedrzejczyk believes she will be champion by year end
In the latter part of the same interview, ‘JJ’ voiced her opinion about Namajunas vs. Esparza 2 being a sad testament to the strawweight division’s current state. The Pole fired back at those who were unhappy about her and Weili fighting for a title shot.
She went on to state that her scrap against the Chinese native will be the toughest fight in the division. At one point, Daniel Cormier asked her if she believes that if she wins this fight she will be champion by the end of the year.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk replied quickly and briefly by saying:
“Yeah, Madison Square Garden.”
Jedrzejczyk fought twice at this legendary venue. At UFC 205, she successfully defended her strawweight title against fellow Pole, Karolina Kowalkiewicz. At UFC 217, she lost her belt to Rose Namajunas by TKO in round one, which ignited their rivalry. They met again at UFC 223 with Namajunas defeating Jedrzejczyk via judges' decision.
11/4/17
Medison Square Garden ✂️✂️🥀🥀 NYC ‼️
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