Joanna Jedrzejczyk is looking to return to the Octagon, sooner rather than later.
The former UFC Strawweight queen hasn’t fought since March 2020, competing right before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S hard. Being out of competition for so long, Joanna has kept on training and has invested a lot of time into her business ventures.
While she has spent 22 months outside the cage, don’t get it twisted, she still wants to be the best. Joanna is just looking for the right opportunity for her return. The former champ was originally eyeing the winner of Rose Namajunas vs. Zhang Weili or Carla Esparza late last year.
Running It Back With Zhang
However, Esparza has been confirmed to be fighting Namajunas next. Joanna wants to settle for a rematch with Zhang Weili, which actually isn’t bad at all. Zhang is the #1 contender and Joanna is currently out of the rankings due to inactivity.
“Everyone thinks I’m not in the UFC anymore.” Jedrzejcyzk said on the Kanal Sportowy show (h/t: WMMArankings) “I am, I just dropped out of the ranking, because I haven’t fought for a dozen or so months. But, I’m coming back and fighting number one. It will probably be Weili Zhang.”
The contest makes much sense at the moment, with other top strawweights being booked already and their first fight being so close. Zhang would defeat Joanna in a controversial split decision, in arguably the greatest women’s fight of all time. It would be a game of inches, where the challenger fell just a bit short of becoming the champion again.
Years after the fact, Joanna looks to right that wrong and earn a shot at the title.
Joanna Says She Was Offered A Title Shot
According to ‘The Boogeywoman’, she didn’t have to fight to get another crack at UFC gold. She says that UFC President Dana White would gie it to her, but there was a catch. Joanna would have to sit out until late 2022. Being the competitor she is, that wasn’t happening.
“I thought it might be Carla Esparza, but it’s already confirmed that she is next for the championship. She is somewhere [Marina] Rodriguez, who is also struggling with [Xiaonan] Yan, and then Weili Zhang remains. I don’t see any other fight – just going for the belt.
“Dana, he made me an offer to fight for the championship. But, I would have to wait until November or December. I don’t want to wait. I want to fight.”
