Joanna Jedrzejczyk shares her prediction for upcoming Carla Esparza vs. Rose Namajunas rematch

Joanna Jedrzejczyk has given her thoughts on the upcoming rematch between Rose Namajunas and Carla Esparza.

While she hasn’t competed inside the Octagon for over two years, Joanna Jedrzejczyk is still a pretty important factor to consider in the UFC’s strawweight division. The former champion is reportedly eyeing a return to the cage this summer, with the plan being for her to take on Zhang Weili in a rematch from their epic encounter at UFC 248.

Prior to that, though, the UFC is planning on booking a rematch between current queen Rose Namajunas and number one contender Carla Esparza. The pair met in December 2014 with Esparza submitting Rose to become the first ever strawweight champion.

Now, with Dana White suggesting they’ll run it back at some point this year, Jedrzejczyk has weighed in on who she thinks will come away with the win – and the belt.

“I think that Rose will defend her belt,” Jedrzejczyk said. “Carla won back in the day in 2014, but both of them are totally different fighters, different athletes with different mentality, as well, but I think that Rose will win this fight. She’s very strong. She’s very, very fast. Her timing is just perfect with her footwork. Of course, Carla has a few wins streak, but Rose is a different level, I think.”

Quotes via MMA Junkie

Joanna has experience against both women after defeating Esparza for the belt in 2015 and losing consecutive bouts to Namajunas in 2017 and 2018.

Moving forward, you can bet the division is about to get a whole lot more interesting after a few months of inactivity.

Do you expect to see Joanna Jedrzejczyk compete in the UFC before the end of the year? When will we see Carla Esparza challenge Rose Namajunas for the title? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments, BJPENN Nation!