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Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk will try reclaim dominance in the 115-pound division later this evening (Sat., Oct. 12, 2019) at UFC Fight Night 161 live on ESPN+ from inside Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, when she squares off with veteran contender Michelle Waterson in the main event.
This is a big opportunity to say the least for Jedrzejczyk, who held the UFC strawweight belt from 2015-2017 before losing back-to-back title fights to Rose Namajunas. With a 1-3 record in her last four Octagon appearances — which includes a loss to UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko — it is important for Jedrzejczyk to take out “Karate Hottie” at UFC Tampa and recapture her promotional stranglehold.
Still, despite her recent struggles and current state in the UFC’s strawweight division, Jedrzejczyk wouldn’t change anything. The Polish superstar is simply trying to correct her path and use her past mistakes to her advantage.
“I remember the moment when I signed with the UFC and I remember the moment I only had a few fights,” Jedrzejczyk told UFC. “I’m very happy I’m here, with the ups and downs. I would not change anything – the wins, the losses, I wouldn’t change them. This is what made me who I am today as an athlete and person.”
Jedrzejczyk, who is coming off the aforementioned title loss to Shevchenko last December, has been enjoying quite the layoff ever since. It’s given the former champion the time she needed to reset and regroup with her team.
“I needed it,” she said. “I did three fights last year, and even before the fight, I spoke to my team and told everyone that I was going to take a break. It wouldn’t matter if I won or lost, I was going to take a break because jumping from camp to camp, cutting weight…”
“I know how to sacrifice,” Jedrzejczyk continued. “I know how to be disciplined, I know how to work hard, but sometimes it’s just too much.”
With her mind, body, and spirit in the right place, “Joanna Champ” is looking to prove that she still possesses championship skill inside of the cage. It all starts with Waterson this weekend at UFC Tampa, but Jedrzejczyk believes she’s regained the fire to compete alongside the best.
“I took a break for a few months and I’m very happy and I feel that fire again,” Jedrzejczyk said. “I turned 32 and I see that sometimes my body is giving some information or signals that, ‘Hey girl, you’re 32, you’re not 16 anymore.’ (Laughs) But actually the quality of the training this camp was very good and I feel the fire and I’m motivated. I trained really hard and I just want to go there and prove something to myself. I don’t have to prove anything to anybody else. I want to have fun and make this one step closer to becoming strawweight champion because after the victory over Michelle Waterson, I will become a challenger for the strawweight belt.”
Only time will tell if Jedrzejczyk has enough left in the tank for another run at UFC gold or if her best days inside of the Octagon are behind her.