Joanna Jedrzejczyk shuts down retirement rumors, says she wants to be champion again

Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk shot down retirement rumors, saying that her goal is to be the champion again.

Jedrzejczyk last competed in March at UFC 248 against Weili Zhang. In one of the greatest MMA fights of all time, the two warriors went the full 25 minutes with Zhang winning a split decision. They later shared a moment in the hospital. It was an incredible fight, one of the best ever, and despite losing on paper, Jedrzejczyk’s stock arguably rose despite the loss.

In the months since the Zhang fight, Jedrzejzyk has hinted at potentially hanging up her gloves. However, that won’t be the case anytime soon. Speaking to the South China Morning Post, Jedrzejczyk explained how her desire to compete again burns deep, and that her goal is to once again become the UFC women’s strawweight champion.

“I will be fighting. I can’t stop. I won’t stop. I was thinking, ‘Maybe I’ll do one, two, three more fights,’ but why not fight every year? Even if I do it once a year or twice a year, why not do it? I love it. It doesn’t matter if I keep winning or losing or keep fighting for the title or not, I just love it,” Jedrzejczyk said.

“Being the champ again (is my goal though). I just want to give big fights to the fans, to the people, because I know my value is very big. I just want people to see that we can never stop, that we can’t give up, that we should fight for our goals and dreams.”

Jedrzejczyk is still one of the top-five fighters at women’s 115lbs even though on paper she has lost three of her last four fights. Despite the recent losses, she proved in the fight against Zhang that she is still an elite talent in the stacked UFC women’s strawweight division. With another win or two, Jedrzejczyk could be right back in the title picture.

The Poland native said that even despite all the damage she suffered in the fight against Zhang, it’s all worth it in pursuit of the belt.

“I lost my last fight, but I feel I will rock the next fight even better. The last camp was special, but I know that I can do even better this time, and I will. I can’t wait. I’m excited. (There will be) lots of pain, lots of tears, lots of blood, sacrificing myself, but it’s worth it to step into the UFC Octagon and fight for the belt,” Jedrzejczyk said.

Who do you want Joanna Jedrzejczyk to fight next?