Looking to become Joanna Champion once again, Poland’s Joanna Jedrzejczyk is confident heading into her UFC 248 title fight against Weili Zhang.
Las Vegas, NV — It’s been a while since the MMA world has been able to call her Joanna Champion. That, however, is what Joanna Jedrzejczyk is trying to work her way back to in the new year. Jedrzejczyk (16-3), who holds the record for the longest reign in the UFC’s strawweight division, will face current champion Weili Zhang at UFC 248 this March.
“It’s beautiful you know. I lost my belt more than two years ago,” she told reporters including Cageside Press at the T-Mobile Arena over the weekend. “I’ve been training so hard to get this title shot. And it’s happening. I’m just super happy. After I win on March 7, it’s going to be more important than my whole career. I’m going to cement my legacy on March 7.”
“I know who I am and I know where I want to be, and I know how hard I will be working to get this title back,” Jedrzejczyk, added. Saying she plans to make history again, the American Top Team fighter also gave her thoughts on Zhang, China’s first UFC champion. “She’s good, she’s the champ. She made it to the league. She’s my next big challenge. But I know who I am. The old JJ is back,” she said.
Later, discussing Zhang’s relative newness to the UFC, Jedrzejczyk agreed that “She’s new, and she shocked the world in August, and she surprised Jessica Andrade. But,” she added, “I think that Andrade was not her best in August when she faced Weili. I just want to be my best on March the 7th, that’s it.”
Assuming the nickname Joanna Champion after winning the title in 2015, Jedrzejczyk defended the belt five times before losing it to Rose Namajunas two years later. “It’s not easy to become the champ, but it’s more difficult to keep defending the belt,” she pointed out. “As you can see, after I lost the felt, we’ve had the third champ already.”
Experience, she believes, will help her reclaim the throne. “I know what that means. I’ve went through this, and I will do this again.”
Watch the full media scrum with Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 245 above!
