Former UFC women’s Strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk has only one blemish on her storied fighting career is her loss to Rose Namajunas (7-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) at UFC 217 this past November at Madison Square Garden.
Joanna made one thing clear ahead of UFC 223 that her rematch with Namajunas is nothing personal but all business.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk believes she lost the UFC strawweight title at UFC 217 because of botched weight-cutting issues caused by her nutritionists. She told Flocombat that immediate rematch was necessary as she is fighting for what belongs to her:
“IT WAS IMPORTANT TO GET THE TITLE SHOT, BUT IF ROSE WAS GOING TO FIGHT IN FEBRUARY OR MARCH AND SHE WAS FACING SOMEONE ELSE [AND LOST] AS LONG AS I COULD GO FOR THE TITLE. I WANT TO GET WHAT BELONGS TO ME. I DON’T WANT TO JUST REMATCH HER. I WANT THE TITLE. IT DOESN’T MATTER WHO KEEPS THE BELT. I’M THE OWNER OF THIS BELT AND I’VE OWNED THIS BELT FOR TWO YEARS AND NINE MONTHS.
WHAT I CAN SAY IS IT’S GOING TO BE BIGGER THAN MY WHOLE FIGHT CAREER. ONLY ONE NIGHT. ONLY ONE FIGHT. IT’S GOING TO BE BIGGER THAN FOURTEEN YEARS OF MY FIGHTING CAREER. MARK MY WORDS. I’M VERY CONFIDENT. THE QUEEN IS BACK.”
Joanna Jedrzejczyk is the betting favorite for her rematch with Rose Namajunas at UFC 223. Joanna is now set to challenge for the title for the first time since she earned it at UFC 185 against Carla Esparza. Despite her loss, Jedrzejczyk is still considered one of the top female fighters in the world.
UFC 223 is set to take place April 7 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
