UFC: Joanna Jedrzejczyk teases next fight ‘very close’, only interested in Rose Namajunas or Zhang Weili
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Joanna Jedrzejczyk believes she will be back in the Octagon in the very near future.
The former UFC strawweight champion, who collected a record-setting five consecutive title defences between 2015 and 2017, has not fought since a March 2020 split decision loss to China’s Zhang Weili. She had since made it clear she intended to fight again – but not until she was able to return to her training home of American Top Team in Florida, and until the UFC welcomed fans back to its events.
With the United States gradually opening up, and the UFC once again packing arenas, all of the 33-year-old’s prerequisites have seemingly been met.
“[The comeback is] very close – actually very close,” Jedrzejczyk told SCMP MMA from her home in Poland. “I spoke with my management and people who are Team Joanna. We spoke with [UFC matchmaker] Mick [Maynard]. We’ll see what happens next. I can’t wait to get back to American Top Team. It’s soon. It’s happening very soon.”
Those conversations were apparently so fruitful that preliminary fight plans are already in motion. “Actually, there is [something on the table], but I can’t talk about it,” she said. “We’ll see what’s going to happen.”
As far as potential opponents go, Jedrzejczyk (16-4) is a big-game hunter, gunning only for the champion Rose Namajunas (10-4) and other big stars like Zhang (21-2).