Joanna Jedrzejczyk Retires From MMA Following KO Loss To Zhang Weili – UFC 275 Highlights

Joanna JedrzejczykFormer undisputed UFC strawweight champion, Joanna Jedrzejczyk has announced her retirement from professional mixed martial arts tonight in Singapore following her second round spinning back-fist knockout loss to fellow former titleholder, Zhang Weili on the main card of UFC 275. Osztyn native, Jedrzejczyk, started brightly in her highly-anticipated rematch against Weili — landing a series […]

Joanna Jedrzejczyk

Former undisputed UFC strawweight champion, Joanna Jedrzejczyk has announced her retirement from professional mixed martial arts tonight in Singapore following her second round spinning back-fist knockout loss to fellow former titleholder, Zhang Weili on the main card of UFC 275.

Osztyn native, Jedrzejczyk, started brightly in her highly-anticipated rematch against Weili — landing a series of punishing leg kicks, jabs, and some notable, heavy counters.

However, midway through the opening frame, the Pole was taken to the canvas by Weili courtesy of a takedown, with the Hebei native landing a series of elbows to steal the opening round.

Half way through the second round, however, during an exchange near the Octagon fence, and overzealous, Jedrzejczyk walked onto a spinning back-fist from Weili — sending her crashing to the canvas as she suffered the first KO loss of her professional mixed martial arts career.

Following the defeat to Weili, Jedrzejczyk confirmed her retirement from professional mixed martial arts during her post-fight interview with UFC color commentator, Daniel Cormier.

Below, catch the highlights from Zhang Weili’s knockout win over Joanna Jedrzejczyk

Marina Rodriguez: Joanna Jedrzejczyk Should Be Removed From Rankings For Inactivity

RodriguezAs far as Marina Rodriguez is concerned, Joanna Jedrzejczyk shouldn’t even be in the rankings. Rodriguez went one step closer to women’s strawweight title contention following a unanimous decision victory over Mackenzie Dern in the UFC Vegas 39 headliner last night. It made it three wins in a row for the Brazilian but when it […]

Rodriguez

As far as Marina Rodriguez is concerned, Joanna Jedrzejczyk shouldn’t even be in the rankings.

Rodriguez went one step closer to women’s strawweight title contention following a unanimous decision victory over Mackenzie Dern in the UFC Vegas 39 headliner last night.

It made it three wins in a row for the Brazilian but when it comes to the rankings, there’s a logjam in front of her. For one, Weili Zhang is challenging for the title against Rose Namajunas in a rematch at UFC 267 later this month.

Carla Esparza — who many felt should be facing Namajunas next — will likely be next in line and having lost to Esparza herself, Rodriguez was hoping that would be the case as well.

“That’s the thing, I really think that Carla was the one that should have been getting the title fight now and not [Zhang Weili],” Rodriguez said at the UFC Vegas 39 post-fight press conference (via MMA Fighting). “But if the UFC does offer me a title fight ahead of her, who am I to say no to it?

“But I would much prefer to let her go fight for a title, maybe get that belt and then we can do the rematch for the belt. I don’t have all the time in the world so she’s got to get moving.”

One person Rodriguez could face in the meantime is the former champion in Jedrzejczyk. The only problem is the Polish star has not competed since her defeat to Zhang in March last year.

And if she isn’t competing, she’s just taking up space in the rankings according to Rodriguez.

“Honestly, Joanna’s already said she doesn’t want to fight me,” Rodriguez added. “Let’s be honest, she shouldn’t even be ranked anymore at this point. She’s been out of action for so long and if she doesn’t want to fight me, I guess I don’t want to fight her, too.

“The problem is she’s holding a very important spot in the rankings and there’s so many girls there fighting twice a year, three times a year, trying to get to that and that spot is locked. If it’s not her, [Yan Xioanan] would be a good fight, she’s ahead anyways so that’s how I have to keep moving. Just keep moving forward and if the title fight happens and they want to defend quickly, give it to Carla after that. Maybe I can fight again, cool. If not, just give me someone else and we’ll keep on moving.”

Do you agree with Rodriguez?

Joanna Jedrzejczyk Wants Winner Of Rose Namjunas vs. Zhang Weili

Joanna Jedrzejczyk wants her belt back. The former UFC strawweight queen has been busy outside of the octagon since her fight of the year performance against Zhang Weili last year. Spending most of the pandemic in her native Poland, Jedrzejczyk has spent the time pursuing other business opportunities. She’s served as a judge on a […]

Joanna Jedrzejczyk wants her belt back.

The former UFC strawweight queen has been busy outside of the octagon since her fight of the year performance against Zhang Weili last year. Spending most of the pandemic in her native Poland, Jedrzejczyk has spent the time pursuing other business opportunities. She’s served as a judge on a Polish dance competition show and is writing her autobiography. Still, her desire to regain what’s she lost is strong. In a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Joanna opens up about what’s she has been up to and what she wants next. 

“I’m living my best life,” she shared. “With my personal or business problems, we all have it, and I’m very happy. I take everything that’s happening in my life, and I give a lot. I give 100 percent every single day in everything I do, but I did as much as I can. I’m still an athlete because I really want to do it, but I set my priorities. I have different priorities. I don’t want to be part of this crazy rat race because I was there.”

These new endeavors outside of the octagon have not swayed the former champ away from her unfinished business within it. She asked the UFC for the rematch with whoever comes out of UFC 261. “I want to get the winner of this fight,” said Jedrzejczyk. 

“I won’t stop. That’s the thing if I was losing fights by knockout or if I was losing the fights on points and the difference was big but it’s not. I always put on a show and the fights are very close so I want to keep on going.”

“I called Mick [Maynard] a few days ago and I just told him ‘You know what? The baddest b*tch on the planet is back’ so book the fight, watch this fight and tell everybody that I’m next,” Jedrzejczyk said.

“I was waiting for this fight. It’s COVID time, so that’s the only reason why the belt was not stripped. Because once a year you have to defend the belt. But we’re having COVID times but when I was the champ, I was defending this belt like crazy.”

Jedrzejczyk knows that some think it’s inappropriate for her to get the next title shot. She lost her last attempt at regaining the belt in her Fight of the Year performance. But she believes that she has done enough to book the fight. 

“I know there are so many people who are like ‘you lost, you have to prove it again.’ I proved it in my last fight, putting on f*cking hell of a show,” Jedrzejczyk said. “Giving the closest fight ever. That’s the thing, Fight of the Year, no gender, no weights. It’s the ticket for the next title fight. That’s the thing. I just don’t want to fight for nothing anymore. That’s the thing.

“If I fight, I fight for big trophies and I don’t have to prove it to anybody.”

Jedrzejczyk remains confident that she will win the rematch with either Namajunas or Weili, but didn’t go as far as to predict the winner of the title fight at UFC 261.

“I wish best of luck to both of them and I hope they will bring the strawweight division even higher than I did the last time with Weili Zhang,” she said. “But I feel like every time I step into the octagon, I break another barrier and limits and records. I did that many times with winning the belt, defending the belt and now with putting on such great shows.”

Do you think Joanna Jedrzejczyk deserves the next strawweight title shot?

Joanna J?drzejczyk Planning 2021 Return To The Octagon, ‘I’m Not Retired’

JedrzejczykFormer UFC strawweight queen, Joanna Jȩdrzejczyk has squashed recent rumours of a potential retirement from mixed martial arts following her March decision defeat to current division best, Zhang Weili – announcing plans for a return to the Octagon at some stage next year to boot. The Polish Muay Thai ace was involved in arguably the most […]

Jedrzejczyk

Former UFC strawweight queen, Joanna J?drzejczyk has squashed recent rumours of a potential retirement from mixed martial arts following her March decision defeat to current division best, Zhang Weili – announcing plans for a return to the Octagon at some stage next year to boot.

The Polish Muay Thai ace was involved in arguably the most entertaining female mixed martial arts fights in the sport’s history at UFC 248 in March – dropping a razor-thin split decision loss to Chinese sensation, Weili in an attempt to regain the strawweight throne.

J?drzejczyk, who plys her trade out of American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida under former WEC featherweight best, Mike Brown has yet to feature in the Octagon since then and remains in her native Poland amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The 33-year-old Olsztyn-born striker was the subject of rumours speculating a potential surprising retirement from the sport but insisted that’s not the case, earmarking plans to first return to the ‘Sunshine State’ before a return to the Octagon next year.

Because of the COVID(-19) situation, somehow, I can’t go back to the (United) States,” J?drzejczyk told the UFC’s Laura Sanko during a recent live interview. “I don’t see myself preparing in Poland or somewhere outside of American Top Team without Mikey Brown, Katel Kubis, American Top Team in general. I love these people. They are my team. I think it will be back next year.

I was planning to get back to the States in the middle of this year, October, the end of this year but probably it’s going to be January. I’m training. I’m training every single day. I train every day. I do lots of cardio, lots of Jiu-Jitsu, lots of boxing. So I keep on rolling every single day and hustling every day.

Refuting claims she had hung up her gloves, J?drzejczyk explained how she’s “living my (her) best life” and hasn’t decided to walk away from the sport.

I’m living my best life,” J?drzejczyk explained. “I’m living my dream. As you know, I was always busy and I’m very happy. I’m still fighting. I’m not retired. So many people on my social media they’re commentating that I’m retired, they’re asking but I’m not. I’m just taking my time.

The former dominant strawweight best maintained that her return to the Octagon would more than likely coincide with the return of fans to live events. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has forced the promotion to host events to a closed gate, with the Pole explaining how she doesn’t envision a return without them in attendance.

I don’t see myself fighting without fans, without an audience,” J?drzejczyk said. “You know how I interact with people. I don’t see myself fighting without fans. There is no sport without fans, any sport. I want my people to watch me live and support me. I just need it. I need this energy from people. This atmosphere always makes me feel so good.” (H/T MMA Fighting)

Weili Zhang Doesn’t Want Joanna Jedrzejczyk Rematch Next

Weili ZhangUFC strawweight champion Weili Zhang has stated her desire to avoid an immediate rematch with Joanna Jedrzejczyk. The two 115lb fighters went to war over five rounds in one of MMA’s all-time great fights at UFC 248 earlier this month. After 25 minutes of war, the judge’s scorecards read in favour of Zhang by split […]

Weili Zhang

UFC strawweight champion Weili Zhang has stated
her desire to avoid an immediate rematch with Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

The two 115lb fighters went to war over five rounds in one of MMA’s all-time great fights at UFC 248 earlier this month. After 25 minutes of war, the judge’s scorecards read in favour of Zhang by split decision – however many believe former champion Jedrzejczyk did enough to get the decision.

Both fighters are now healing up and self-isolating in a world overcome by the coronavirus. During this time Jedrzejczyk has gone on record to call for the rematch. However, it now appears Zhang isn’t too keen on that idea. Speaking to ESPN, the 115lb champion explained why she’d prefer to fight someone else.

“I have no clue when my
next fight would be yet, since everything is stuck by this COVID-19 pandemic. I
would like to fight here in the U.S. again, since I have seen a massive number
of Chinese and Asian people here motivated by my fight who will definitely
cheer for me. Also U.S. has the biggest MMA fan base. I don’t want the rematch
yet. I would like to give opportunities to other fighters in line.”

After taking the time to reflect, Zhang wasn’t happy with her performance at UFC 248 but was glad that so many Chinese fans got to see her compete.

“I have not watched it yet, since I did not put on my best performance and showcase my best shape in training. I appreciate the support and recognition from all my fans, and I am glad they enjoyed the fight. Joanna and I both put on our toughness and will inside the Octagon to make the fight fascinating. People back in China are all very motivated and credit my hard work and show tons of respect to all athletes who compete for our country. Almost all mainstream media has interviewed me. I heard there were over 100 million views of the fight within 24 hours in China. So many fans jammed the Chinese pay-per-view website to watch it live, the server went down.”

Should Weili Zhang immediately rematch Joanna Jedrzejczyk? 

Weili Zhang ‘Irritated’ With Joanna Jedrzejczyk For Coronavirus Jokes

Weili ZhangWeili Zhang is still angry and irritated with Joanna Jedrzejczyk for her comments towards the Coronavirus and the jokes she made. Back in January, the former champ posted a photo of her wearing a mask and made fun of the Coronavirus. Immediately, Zhang and many took offense to it and now two months later, the […]

Weili Zhang

Weili Zhang is still angry and irritated with Joanna Jedrzejczyk for her comments towards the Coronavirus and the jokes she made.

Back in January, the former champ posted a photo of her wearing a mask and made fun of the Coronavirus. Immediately, Zhang and many took offense to it and now two months later, the Chinese champion is still angry.

“I was really angry about that, especially since she’s making jokes about the outbreak, and making jokes about our nation, our country,” Zhang said to the media (via BJPENN.com). “Because a lot of died from this coronavirus, a lot of families lost their members around the world, lots of kids lost their parents and became orphans. It’s a very tragic moment for all the Chinese people, but not only the Chinese people but all the people around the world. And she’s making jokes on that? It really, really made me irritated

“It’s probably because of the cultural difference. In Chinese culture, we don’t laugh at people who are suffering,” she continued. “We help them, we help them up, we build them up. But I don’t know about her. I’m just really angry about it.”

On Saturday night, in the co-main event of UFC 248, Zhang will look to defend her title against Jedrzejczyk. It is an interesting fight where the champion is a slight favorite.

Zhang is riding a very impressive 20-fight winning streak but is just 4-0 inside the Octagon and coming off a shocking first-round knockout win over Jessica Andrade to win the title.

Jedrzejczyk, meanwhile, returned to the strawweight division with a very impressive decision win over Michelle Waterson last time out. Before that, she suffered a decision loss to Valentina Shevchenko for the vacant flyweight belt.

This is no doubt an interesting fight and whether or not Zhang’s emotions will play into the fight is to be seen.

Who do you think will win between Weili Zhang and Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 248?