Joanna Jedrzejczyk has officially lost to UFC strawweight champ Rose Namajunas twice, but the Poland native still won’t call her the best at 115 pounds.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk believes UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas should “bow down” to her, “because I’m the queen.”
Former titleholder Jedrzejczyk, who reigned over the division from March 2015 to November 2017, lost the belt via first-round knockout to Namajunas at UFC 217 in a shocking upset. She looked to recapture UFC gold in an immediate rematch earlier this year, but fell via narrow decision.
Still, Jedrzejczyk refuses to call Namajunas the best strawweight — even though Namajunas has said in the past that she’ll only grant the Poland native a trilogy bout if she accepts the fact that “Thug” Rose is the queen at 115 pounds.
Jedrzejczyk even suggested that the UFC could create an interim title if Namajunas avoids the trilogy, a fight that Jedrzejczyk believes is simply destined to happen.
“I will not do this,” Jedrzejczyk said at the UFC on FOX 30 post-fight press conference following a rebound win over Tecia Torres on Saturday (transcript via MMAFighting.com). “Never ever. She wants my honor? She must earn that. If she’s going to run, they’re going to make an interim belt. She was saying she’s afraid Conor McGregor will show up again and make a mess like he did before Brooklyn. He is not going to do this. Don’t be afraid, Rose. Come on. Just fight. Just face the best. You should face (Jessica) Andrade.
“If not, I will chase you. If you hold the belt, I will chase you. Until the next fight. That’s it.”
Jedrzejczyk isn’t sure why Namajunas doesn’t have a title defense booked. Right now, a pivotal strawweight bout between Jessica Andrade and Karolina Kowalkiewicz is scheduled for UFC 228 in September. It is presumed that Andrade, with a win over Kowalkiewicz, would get a crack at Namajunas.
But Jedrzejczyk doesn’t seem confident that Namajunas will be defending the title anytime soon.
“I know how dedicated a fighter I am, how good [of an] employee I am for the UFC. We all should be like this,” Jedrzejczyk said. … “If she’s injured, OK. But if she’s just playing, if she want to have holiday, let the UFC know that, ‘I want to have a holiday, I want to have a break.’ Let UFC make an interim belt and let’s fight for the belt.”