Joanna Jedrzejczyk ”won’t stop” until she has title shot

Joanna Jedrzejczyk has her eyes set on retaking the gold she formerly held as she asserts herself as next in line for a title shot in the women’s 115lb division. UFC 261 takes place this Saturday and amongst the stacked card is the eagerly awaited return of Weili Zhang as she defends her title against Rose Namajunas. The last time fans saw Zhang in action was in a fight of the year spectacle against no other than Jedrzejczyk and ”the baddest b*tch on the planet” wants to run it back:

“I called Mick [Maynard] a few days ago and I just told him ‘You know what? The baddest b*tch on the planet is back’ so book the fight, watch this fight and tell everybody that I’m next…” Joanna told MMA Fighting. She responded to critics who think she may be ‘undeserving’ of a rematch with Zhang, ”I know there are so many people who are like ‘you lost, you have to prove it again.’ I proved it in my last fight, putting on a f*cking hell of a show. Giving the closest fight ever.”

Joanna Jedrzejczyk lost a closely fought battle with Weili Zhang back at UFC 248, leaving Jedrzejczyk looking unrecognisable afterwards. The fight is hailed by fans to be one of, or if not the greatest fight in UFC history. This leaves a potential rematch with Zhang the front runner for fantasy matchmakers. Rose Namajunas however, holds two victories over Jedrzejczyk, something Joanna doesn’t seem phased about:

“If I fight, I fight for big trophies and I don’t have to prove it to anybody. I want to get the winner of this fight. I won’t stop. That’s the thing. If I was losing fights by knockout. Or if I was losing the fights on points and the difference was big. But it’s not I always put on a show and the fights are very close so I want to keep on going.

The confidence that fans fell in love with is clearly at an all time high with Jedrzejczyk and fans are eagerly anticipating her return. Joanna was the UFC’s second ever strawweight champion, defeating Carla Esparza back in 2015, and made five defences until being dethroned by Rose Namajunas at UFC 217.

What do you think? Does Joanna deserve the next title shot? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!