Issue 181

August 2019

For former strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk three defeats in 13 months saw her world fall apart. But now she's on the comeback trail and she wants her title back.

Having once reigned supreme as the queen of the UFC strawweight division for over two and a half years, Joanna Jedrzejczyk now faces the most challenging time of her career as she attempts to fight her way back to the top of the mountain.

After making her UFC debut in July 2014, less than a year later Jedrzejczyk defeated Carla Esparza for the UFC’s 115-pound title in March 2015. The Pole then went on to defend the belt no fewer than five times beating Jessica Penne, Valerie Letourneau, Claudia Gadelha, Karolina Kowalkiewicz and the now champion Jessica Andrade in a run so dominant few ever believed the Pole would be dethroned.

Her time at the top ended in abrupt fashion though in November 2017, when Rose Namajunas shocked the world at UFC 217 and finished Jedrzejczyk inside the first round in front of a packed-out crowd at Madison Square Garden.

Few expected it at the time, but Jedrzejczyk’s first taste of defeat in MMA was the start of a difficult period for the Pole and just five months later she was narrowly defeated again by Namajunas in a rematch at UFC 223. After bouncing back with a victory over Tecia Torres in July, Jedrzejczyk was offered the opportunity to fight the UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko in December but went on to lose her third title fight in just 13 months.

Some in the MMA community have suggested that Jedrzejczyk’s best form might be in the past, but she remains steadfast in her belief that she is still the strawweight queen.

“People are forever saying to me ‘You lost, you lost, you lost,’ but they don’t look at the whole picture,” Jedrzejczyk said. “They just look at it from a very narrow point of view and don’t consider how good those fights were and how close the fight with Rose was the second time around. Even the fight with Valentina was very competitive and she was such a strong athlete. I know that I need to make just some very small adjustments for the next fight.”

Jedrzejczyk has yet to compete in 2019 and has her eyes set on only one thing. Despite having moved up in weight in her last fight, recapturing her strawweight title remains at the forefront of her mind and she’s willing to wait it out on the sidelines until she’s granted the title shot that she was apparently guaranteed by the UFC.

“I don’t know when I’m going to fight next,” Jedrzejczyk said. “All that I know is that my step will be going back down to 115 pounds. I’ve had some offers to fight some girls already, but something has been promised to me and I’m waiting for this to happen.”

“I know there are a lot of people that are doubting me and saying that I don’t deserve a title shot and that I should get back in line, but I know who I am and I know how the second fight with Rose went,” she continued. “I put on an amazing performance against Tecia Torres and people forget about that just because of the super fight that I had with Valentina Shevchenko. That was in a higher weight class, but at 115 pounds I just won very impressively. I want to fight the champion now and that’s the only thing that I want.”

One thing Jedrzejczyk says she’s learned over the past year and a half is that having life balanced both inside and outside of the Octagon is vital for success. The Pole hinted that things in her personal life had recently been turbulent, but that going forward things were going to be a lot more settled.

“I never talk about my personal life, but I know how it can affect you mentally when things are difficult,” Jedrzejczyk said. “Now I’m a totally free person as a woman and as an athlete and I know that in my next fight, I’m going to be totally different.

“I went through so many things in the last 18 months, but now I’m on the other side I can see how I feel different. I feel brilliant now. Life is good and I’m hungry again.”

Whilst she now has a better handle on life outside of her fighting career, Jedrzejczyk knows that there is no guaranteed recipe for success when it comes to fight night.

Having tasted defeat three times in her last four outings, Jedrzejczyk now has a better understanding of the lows that come with every fighting career and it has opened her eyes to how slim the margins are between success and failure.

“This sport is such a beautiful sport, but it’s also very difficult,” Jedrzejczyk said. “No matter how hard you train or prepare for fights, it’s all about how you feel on that one day.

“People don’t care about the person who loses the fight and how they feel,” she continued. “Both those fighters give their all, they prepare the same, they both have families. Even the small things make a huge difference; like how hydrated you feel after your weight cut, how you sleep, how you eat, how you deal with the emotions. All these things can make a huge difference. The more fights you have the more you realize how fragile everything is."

Jedrzejczyk’s last defeat to Shevchenko saw her move up to 125 pounds for the first time in her UFC tenure. The fight was competitive, but Jedrzejczyk was noticeably the weaker of the two fighters and Shevchenko clearly won four of the five rounds to take the unanimous decision. Moving up in weight to take on a former bantamweight title contender was always going to be a tough task and Jedrzejczyk openly admits that she will do things differently if she is to return to flyweight.

“If I go up to 125 pounds again I will spend more time putting on the extra weight,” she said. “Everything from your movement, your speed, the power of your punches and kicks, they change when you’re heavier. Before my last fight, it was all kind of rushed and I think I could’ve been better at adapting to the weight. As I said, my next move will be back to 115, but in the future, I want to work things out the right way and put on proper muscle weight. If I’m going to compete on the same level as the other woman at 125 I will need to do that.

The Pole’s next move looks to be heading back down to strawweight and awaiting a title shot, but she could be waiting a long time. There is no shortage of challengers waiting to face Jessica Andrade with the likes of Michelle Waterson, Tatiana Suarez, Nina Ansaroff and the former champion Namajunas all having strong arguments for the next shot at the gold. Regardless of who holds the belt though, Jedrzejczyk believes she will still be the number one in the division until they can surpass her achievements as a champion.

“I receive so many messages from people saying that they want me to be champion,” Jedrzejczyk said. “These people see how much I work and how hard I work. People don’t like boring people. I’m not saying Rose is a bad person, she’s actually a very good person and human being, but people want to see a champion with fire you know.

“I was a very dominant champion, but now people are saying I’m no longer number one. Let’s see someone else defend the title five times. Let’s see somebody else step into their sixth title defense. It means so much to me and I appreciate the people that care about me, but there are always going to be people that doubt me. Even when you’re the champion they doubt you, but that’s life.”

Although she hasn’t competed in the Octagon for over a half year, Jedrzejczyk hasn’t just been watching time pass by. As a keen traveler and photographer, the Pole has spent the last 6 months traveling the world and one of her trips saw her go back to the place of one of her greatest triumphs as the UFC strawweight champion.

“Since January I’ve visited seven countries on five different continents and I’ve only slept at my apartment for three weeks,” Jedrzejczyk said. “I love traveling and It was amazing to get back to Melbourne. The people, I love those people and it was amazing to be back. I was part of the biggest UFC show in the world there in 2015.

“It was also good to go back to Poland and train with my former coach. I was trained with him between 2008 and 2010 and I won many Muay Thai trophies. It was good to go back to my roots and get in some good work there.”

At the age of 31, Jedrzejczyk arguably still has some of her best years ahead of her, but she has never hidden her desire to step away from the sport and start a family in the not-too-distant future. When that happens still remains to be seen, but for the minute at least, retirement isn’t at the forefront of her mind.

“I really don’t know right now,” Jedrzejczyk said regarding how long she wants to continue fighting. “Whenever I step away and take time off people are saying ‘Go back to training. Go back to fighting,’ but they don’t know that there’s more to life. Yes, I love fighting and yes, I love training, but let’s say I get injured tomorrow or I can’t compete again, what do you have then? My main focus is still on fighting and training, but I’m a person with my many hobbies and many passions.

“I’m just trying to do things outside of the Octagon because I’m not just an athlete,” she continued. “I’m not a robot, I’m not a fighting machine; I’m a human as well. I really don’t know how long I want to continue to fight. I still love this and I want to keep on training and fighting more. I can’t say if I will fight two, three, four more years. Right now I’m just focusing on working with my coaches and my manager to work hard both in and out of competition.”

The importance of preparing for life after fighting has never been lost on Jedrzejczyk and her career in MMA appears to be just the first of many to follow. Having come from so little to now being one of the biggest sporting stars in Poland, Jedrzejczyk believes that it’s her duty to aid the next generation of athletes coming through and helping them manage their careers.

“In this sport, you must be very clever to make real money,” Jedrzejczyk said. “You must be very smart if you’re one of the few who get paid very well to do this. I’ve invested my money in Poland. I’ve big plans to open a sports center back in my hometown, I want to do many things in the future and one of those things is to be a manager. I want to help athletes be happy and compete healthily. I used to be told the saying ‘From zero to hero,’ but I want to change that. I was in this sport when I was barely making hundreds and when no one wanted to sponsor me. I was poor, but I made my way through this and now in the future, I want to help other fighters.”

Whoever Jedrzejczyk goes on to manage will quickly learn the relentless work ethic required to get to the top of MMA. Despite starting Muay Thai in her mid-teens, Jedrzejczyk continued on with her studies for many years after she began competing competitively. Having found a balance for studying, working and fighting herself, Jedrzejczyk knows first-hand that it's possible to do all three at once.

“It frustrates me when I hear fighters say they have no time to study or work,” Jedrzejczyk said. “I used to train so hard in the week, work in the evenings and then study at the weekends. One year I graduated in two different subjects of study and all the time I was also training. Everything is in our control and it’s just all about putting on hard work. It’s never about saying you want to do something. I never want to be that person who says that they want to do something; I want to be the person that says they did it. Anything is possible if you’re ready to put the work in.”

“I studied physical education and physical therapy", she continues. “I think this is why I became such a successful athlete, because I learned about the body, how to push myself, and how to recover. I’ve been in this sport for 16 years with no real injuries. I believe this enabled to me perform at my best physically and earn more money. It’s all about being smart and training hard, but making sure I’m smart outside of fighting.”

Though a portion of her focus now lies on projects outside of fighting, Jedrzejczyk still believes there's a lot left for her to achieve in MMA. Regaining her UFC strawweight title remains her primary goal but having endured a difficult 18 months, Jedrzejczyk has a much wider appreciation of everything else surrounding her life.

“Don’t be mistaken, I’m continuing to work hard and train my hardest,” Jedrzejczyk concludes. “I’m balancing my life well right now, spending my time with my friends and being happy. It’s so important to spend time with friends and be kind. There’s no sport with no fans, but please fans, respect the athletes. I appreciate everything my fans do for me and I will continue to fight for them. But UFC please, if you promise me something, you better back it up. I always keep my promises and I expect the same of them.”