Rose Namajunas made history at the UFC 261 pay-per-view (PPV) event last month in Jacksonville, Fla., becoming the first two-time strawweight champion in the history of the promotion, thanks to a first-round knockout of ex-titleholder Zhang Weili.
Sorry, Joanna.
That means “Thug” is going to have her pick of the litter when it comes time for her next title defense. With No. 3-ranked Yan Xiaonan battling No. 4-ranked Carla Esparza — who defeated Namajunas back in late 2014 — Jedrzejczyk is unlikely to get first dibs.
And the red-hot Mackenzie Dern, ranked No. 5, is also in the mix.
“I love Joanna but she’s gonna be mad,” Namajunas said after planishing Weili.
“She’s gonna be pissed, because she was just saying, ‘Give me whoever, I want the winner of both of them,’ and then you won and she’s like ‘Dohhhh,’” coach Pat Barry added.
Jedrzejczyk (16-4) is coming off a razor-thin decision loss to Zhang at UFC 248.
The 10-4 Namajunas, who turns 29 next month, holds two victories over Jedrzejczyk. After finishing the Polish piston at UFC 217, “Thug” Rose defended her title by capturing a five-round decision in their UFC 223 rematch just a few months later.
“Divas don’t do drama,” Jedrzejczyk wrote on social media. “We do business.”