Joanna Jedrzejczyk finally returns to action next month at UFC 275 when she rematches Zhang Weili in Singapore; however, two of her former opponents are fighting this weekend in Phoenix, AZ, and she believes the champion will get an early stoppage at UFC 274.
First-round finish
Speaking with Fanatics View recently, Jedrzejczyk gave her UFC 274 prediction.
“I feel like Rose is so dominant, first-round finish for Rose Namajunas,” Jedrzejczyk said. “First or second round. I feel like, and I am hearing so many people, they really believe that Carla can win.”
While the former strawweight queen is confident in ‘Thug’ Rose, she isn’t sleeping on Carla Esparza.
“Of course, I believe in Carla, for it’s always 50-50 for me going into a fight, especially a championship fight. You don’t get this spot for no reason,” she said. “So, Carla has a few win streaks and she deserves that and I am happy for her. [I’m] very happy that these two are going to meet after so many years because I faced Carla after she won over Rose Namajunas in ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ in 2014.”
Jedrzejczyk has a history with both women in the co-main event this weekend. She beat Esparza to win the strawweight title in 2015, and then she lost the title to Namajunas in 2017 and then lost their rematch five months later.
Next month, the Polish fighter returns to action in the very highly anticipated rematch with Weili. If Esparza defeats Namajunas in their rematch, there is a very good chance Jedrzejczyk slides into a title fight if she wins next month.
There are so many ‘ifs’ surrounding the next few months with the strawweight division, but that is what makes the sport fun.
