Future UFC Hall of Famer Joanna Jedrzejczyk believes women’s MMA pioneer Ronda Rousey is more than entitled to walk into a bantamweight title fight should she make her fabled return to the Octagon.
Following an impressive unanimous decision victory over Irene Aldana at UFC 289 last month, two-division champ Amanda Nunes announced her retirement from mixed martial arts, vacating the bantamweight title in the process. With the division now wide open, fighters have been coming out of the woodwork in hopes of becoming the next 135-pound queen.
While the likeliest scenario has the division’s top two ranked contenders, Julianna Pena, and Raquel Pennington, vying for the title later this year, one rumor has already turned the division on its head. Recent reports have suggested that the first-ever UFC women’s world champion, Ronda Rousey, may be prepping a return to the UFC now that ‘The Lioness’ is no longer in the picture. Some fuel was added to the fire when rumors started flying that ‘Rowdy’ could be walking away from the WWE where she has been a top draw for the last several years.
Of course, not everyone is thrilled by the idea of Ronda Rousey walking straight into a UFC title after walking away from the sport seven years ago, but for former strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk, the bantamweight title has and will always belong to Rousey.
“She can fight for the vacant title. It’s her belt,” Jedrejczyk told The Schmo during International Fight Week.
As for who ‘Rowdy’ could face in a potential title tilt, Jedrzejczyk believes both Julianna Pena and Raquel Pennington would make fine opponents, but specifically noted ‘Rocky’ who has seen a bit of a career resurgence, winning five straight fights in the division.
“It can be Julianna or Raquel,” Jedrejczyk said. “Raquel deserves a title shot. She has a few win streaks so, yeah.”
#OnThisDay in 2014: Ronda Rousey took just 16 SECONDS to knock out Alexis Davis!
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Joanna Jedrzejczyk Offers Her Thoughts on the Rematch Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko
On September 16, newly crowned UFC flyweight champion Alexa Grasso will return to defend her title for the first time against the same woman she took the title from, Valentina Shevchenko. The two will headline a king-sized Fight Night card inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Asked for her thoughts on the highly anticipated rematch, Jedrzejczyk was unable to offer up a prediction, but she believes Grasso will go into the sequel significantly stronger and more confident than she did the first time around.
“I don’t know. I don’t like to predict the fights,” Jedrzejczyk said. “I know how tough, physically and mentally, Valentina is, but I know how strong you get after winning the UFC belt. It’s a totally different motivation. A different power you get in your head and in your muscles, so I really don’t know.”
Of course, JJ is speaking from experience, capturing the strawweight title with an impressive second-round TKO against two-time titleholder Carla Esparza at UFC 185. ‘Joanna Violence’ went on to defend the title an incredible five times.
“It feels like this extra power you can see,” Jedrzejczyk said of winning a UFC championship. “You feel like the whole universe is in you, with you, and behind your back. A perfect example is Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman. That’s a perfect example of how challengers are becoming the champions and how dominant they are becoming” (h/t MiddleEasy).