Former champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk says she was offered the winner of ‘Esparza vs. Namajunas 2’, but plans to rematch Weili Zhang
Joanna Jedrzejczyk is aiming to return to MMA competition in 2022.
In a recent interview on the ‘Kanal Sportowy Show’ in Poland, Joanna commented:
“Everyone thinks I’m not in the UFC anymore. 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.”
Joanna Jedrzejczyk continued (h/t WMMARankings):
“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 [White] he made me an offer to fight for the championship, but I would have to wait until November / December and I don’t want to wait. I want to fight.”
It’s true, Jedrzejczyk (16-4-0) last fought back in March 2020 at UFC 248 in an unsuccessful bid to obtain the strawweight championship from Zhang Weili. The split decision loss with a combination of 351 strikes, had both fighters taken to hospital for precautionary reasons.
Zhang, meanwhile, has continued to stay active, losing twice to rival Rose Namajunas.
Currently the top contender is Carla Esparza, with Marina Rodriguez lurking not far behind. Although Joanna has already been offered to fight the winner of Namajunas vs. Esparza, she doesn’t want to wait. Jedrzejczyk who is also one of the best fighters in the division and, despite recently being pulled from the UFC rankings, wants to return to the ring sooner rather than later.
It’s looking more and more like Jedrzejczyk’s comeback fight will indeed be a rematch with Weili Zhang. Many fans and observers believed their first encounter was the single greatest women’s MMA fight of all time.
Do you want to see the UFC book former UFC women’s strawweight champions Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Weili Zhang in a rematch? Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!
Topics:
Joanna Jedrzejczyk Rose Namajunas UFC Weili Zhang