Joanna Jedrzejczyk: Maybe I’m The Baddest Chick On The Planet
On Saturday night (May 13, 2017), in the co-main event of UFC 211 from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, reigning 115-pound champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk tightened her rattle snake like grip on the strawweight division, scoring a dominant one-sided decision victory over the tough and gritty Jessica Andrade, beating the Brazilian in every round on each of the three judges’ scorecards.
The win marked the fifth defense of Jedrzejczy’s title and she accomplished this victory in impressive fashion, repeatedly peppering Andrade with a lightning quick jab as well an effective combination of elbows, knees and kicks.
After such a victory, the Polish striker should’ve been on top of the world, but she ended her night leaving the post-fight press conference in tears after she was asked a question by MMAFighting’s Ariel Helwani regarding her coach Kami Barzini, who will be making his departure from American Top Team.
Once again speaking with Helwani on today’s (May 15, 2017) edition of The MMA Hour, Jedrzejczyk said that her sadness stemmed from the fact that Barzini is her ‘master’:
“It’s amazing how he changed my wrestling, how he changed my takedown defense,” Jedrzejczyk said. “You can see that in my last fight. That’s the thing. I’d like to work with him. And he’s such a good person. He’s a master of wrestling — he’s my master. But he’s like such a good spirit. He’s like a doctor.
“Before this fight, he said I’m like a lion. I felt like a lion.”
Jedrzejczyk’s wrestling has certainly improved, as she stuffed a plethora of Andrade’s takedown attempts, while springing back up instantly when taken down.
Since joining American Top Team late last year, the 29-year-old champion has clearly continued to elevate her skills and Barzini appears to have been a big part of that process. Overall, however, Jedrzejczyk admits that she’s well taken care of at ATT:
“It’s not just about the work,” Jedrzejczyk said. “They really take care of me. They’re with me all the time. They ask me how I feel after the training, before the training. We hang out together.”
In her next fight, Jedrzejczyk will look to tie Ronda Rousey’s record for the most consecutive title defenses made by a female fighter and some have already begun to consider her the best female fighter in the world. She agrees this may be true, but that doesn’t mean she lacks emotion. Respect also seems to be important to the woman dubbed “Joanna Champion” and she urged all of her fans to show respect:
“Good people connect with good people and this is what happened with us,” Jedrzejczyk said. “Maybe I’m the baddest chick on the planet, maybe I’m the baddest woman in the Octagon, but I’m definitely emotional. I believe in people so badly and I love when people treat me the same way. It’s not just about the money.”
“It’s all about the right relationships with people,” she told Helwani. “To all of you, remember — one day you can be a champion, you can be the richest person in the world, you can be the boss or the director of some big company, but remember the next day you can be at the beginning again. So, respect people and it’s all about the right relationships.”
Do you consider Jedrzejczyk to be the baddest woman on the planet?
