UFC women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk became tearful at the UFC 211 post-fight press conference when asked about the news that one of her American Top Team coaches was leaving, and she’s now explained the reasons for her emotional outburst.
MMAfighting.com’s Ariel Helwani was the journalist who had asked her about her wrestling coach Kami Barzini’s imminent departure at the presser, so it seemed only fitting that it was he who had the chance to get the full story from the dominant champion yesterday on ‘The MMA Hour’ show.
“It’s amazing how he changed my wrestling, how he changed my takedown defense,” Jedrzejczyk said of Barzini. “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.”
During the interview, Jedrzejczyk revealed that she still hopes that she is going to discuss whether it’s possible she could still be able to train with Barzini separately in addition to continuing to work with the rest of the ATT staff, who she was also very complimentary about.
“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.”
Jedrzejczyk went on to emphasize how important the relationships she had built at the gym and the ‘family’ atmosphere they had created were to her.
“It’s all about the right relationships with people. 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.”
