As far as Joanna Jedrzejczyk is concerned, only herself and Weili Zhang should fight for the title next.
Jedrzejczyk hasn’t competed since her razor-thin split decision defeat to Zhang in their war for the women’s strawweight title back in March 2020.
Zhang would since lose her title after getting knocked out by Rose Namajunas at UFC 261 last month with many speculating who the latter will face next.
Former champion Carla Esparza believes it should be her as she is on a five-fight winning streak and is recently coming off an impressive TKO win over Yan Xioanan last week.
Not to mention, she holds a win over Namajunas as well.
“I’ve worked so hard to get to this point, and I want that title fight. I want that title fight real bad. Not only do I want it, but I deserve it,” Esparza said.
“I think it’s an intriguing fight, I think fans really want to see it. It’s a rematch that I even want to see, like I’m excited for it. It’s really out of my control, but I’m going to keep calling for that rematch.”
Jedrzejczyk Wants Title Shot, Training Everyday
Jedrzejczyk — who notably defeated Esparza to become the strawweight champion back in 2015 — disagrees.
When told of Esparza’s comments, the former 115-pound queen responded:
“This is what she thinks,” she told The Schmo. “She has a winning streak but I think the next challenger should be JJ or Weili Zhang. This is what I agree to.”
As for who Namajunas is more likely to face next between herself and Zhang?
“Both fights are possible and are very interesting not only for me, but for the other girls — Rose or Weili Zhang — for the UFC and the fans so we’ll see what’s going to happen next.”
One thing is for sure — Jedrzejczyk is ready to compete again as he has been training everyday for the last few months.
“I’ve been training really hard for the last months, even twice a day,” she added. “… I manage my daily schedule, routine for training. … Of course, I feel this fire and I’m very motivated to fight very soon.”
You can watch the full interview here:
