Former UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk recently signed a new six-fight deal with the promotion and has acknowledged that it might be her last.
“For sure [it could be my final contract],” Jedrzejczyk told MMA Fighting. “It’s a six-fight deal. But this fight is not going to be my last fight or the second or the third — I feel a second wind.
“I’m turning 35 this year and I never felt so good. Physically, mentally, I’m just happy.”
Jedrzejczyk hasn’t fought since a 2020 split-decision loss in a barn-storming title fight with Zhang Weili, but with a new deal in place she’s now heading into a rematch with her rival at UFC 275 on June 11th with renewed motivation.
“All of the opportunities I have outside of the gym and outside of the octagon, the money I can make isn’t easy because I have to work my ass so hard,” Jedrzejczyk said. “But somehow you need this extra motivation to get back to the octagon.
“I can’t just go there and get my face beat up again for little money and no exposure, etc. There has to be something extra beside the love and the desire I have to this sport. I feel like I’m still one of the greatest in the strawweight division and I just want to go there and prove that on June 11.”
Jedrzejczyk went on to speak more about her love for the sport is the driving force behind her decision to continue competing.
“I used to like to be on the go and not sit with my legacy,” Jedrzejczyk explained. “Now I approach [it like] the love in my life. My sports legacy is so big and some people are still saying I’m not the champion anymore. OK, but I’ve been there and I know my value. This is amazing.
“That’s why I feel pure now going into this camp and this fight. I love Florida, I love American Top Team, I love Dan Lambert and all of these people, and it feels like I don’t want to leave. I want to spend more time training, to be around here, these people and fighting.”
