After leaving her longtime camp in Poland to join American Top Team (ATT) in Florida, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) strawweight champion reveals that she didn’t quite receive a warm welcome to the famed camp.
Especially from most of the female fighters training there.
It was a bit surprising to “JJ,” as she tells Flo Combat that she didn’t think she posed any threat to any of the contenders who sharpen their skill at the camp.
“To be honest first days were… quite difficult,” Jedrzejczyk said. “Girls weren’t amazed that I’m here. Valerie, Amanda Nunes, Nina Ansaroff, and Tecia Torres seemed to be saying to themselves ‘What is Jedrzejczyk doing here?’ Valerie I beat, Tecia dropped in rankings, Nina hasn’t fought for a long time… What are we even talking about? What kind of threat am I to them? What kind of threat are they to me?”
Thankfully, fellow 115-pound contender Jessica Aguilar came to her defense and eventually the rest of the crew fell in line. Which is good for Joanna, as she now feels she has found a home for life.
“After a few days, one of them said ‘Joanna is a beast.’ I think they finally saw what it takes to get on top, to get that belt, and defend it. Jessica Aguilar stuck up for me and said ‘Girls, why are you gossiping about Joanna? Let’s train normally and just learn from the best in the world.’ They thought that I came there only for a while. And I think that I found a place to train at for the rest of my career.”
Jedrzejczyk will look to defend her title for the fourth time when she faces Karolina Kowalkiewicz at the upcoming UFC 205 pay-per-view (PPV) event, which is slated to go down on Nov, 12, 2016 from famed Madison Square Garden in New York City.
And she’ll be doing it with the full support and backing of her new teammates.
For more on the monumental UFC 205 event click here.