Former undisputed UFC strawweight champion, Joanna Jedrzejczyk has officially penned a new-multi fight deal with the organization, ahead of her high-stakes, potential title-eliminator rematch against former champion, Zhang Weili at UFC 275 in June.
Jedrzejczyk, the second strawweight champion in the history of the organization, has been sidelined since March of 2020, co-headlining UFC 248 against then-champion, Weili in a title challenge – suffering a close, split decision loss in the consensus 2020 Fight of the Year.
The Polish Muay Thai striker battled over the course of five, hard-fought rounds against Hebei native, Weili – suffering a split judging loss, however, is slated to return at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in June in a rematch against her fellow former champion on the main card of UFC 275.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk pens new UFC contract ahead of her June Octagon comeback
The 34-year-old revealed earlier this week that ahead of her pivotal strawweight re-run with Weili, she has penned a new multi-fight deal with the UFC.
“It’s a multiple fight deal,” Joanna Jedrzejczyk told MMA Fighting of her new contract. “I always said I want to retire in the UFC, and of course, people would love to see me doing this or that after, but I feel like if I retired from MMA, I would retire from the UFC, the best MMA league in the world.”
Jedrzejczyk then explained how money and financial terms of a contract would not define her, insisting that pride rules the roost when it comes to her career future.
“I don’t want to go somewhere and fight for this bigger money,” Joanna Jedrzejczyk said. “Money is not everything. I’ve saved enough money for myself, for my kids, for my grandkids probably, but it’s not only about the money. You need to have this pride in you and you have to know what to do and how to prioritize some things. This is what I’m trying to do.”
16-4 as a professional, Jedrzejczyk made her UFC debut in July 2014, besting Juliana Lima, and Claudia Gadelha, before defeating incoming title challenger, inaugural gold holder, Carla Esparzain 2015 to land the undisputed strawweight crown.
In five subsequent successful title defenses, Jedrzejczyk defeated Jessica Penne, Valerie Letourneau, the above mentioned, Gadelha, Karolina Kowalkiewicz, and former champion, Jessica Andrade. In her most recent professional victory, Jedrzejczyk bested Michelle Waterson in an October 2019 headliner.