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Joanna Jedrzejczyk came out with a massive hematoma on her forehead and several other facial injuries from her epic UFC 248 clash with Strawweight Champ Zhang Weili.
Despite losing the bout in a narrow split decision, the Polish fighter got as many accolades as the defending Champion, and the bout went on to be hailed as one of the greatest MMA fights ever.
Talking on this week's episode of MMA Fighting's Eurobash podcast, Jedrzejczyk shared an update on her injuries and also spoke about her general experience of hurting and bruising as a part of this job.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk: It's a price we have to pay
After the historic five-round fight, both the fighters were taken to the local hospital in Las Vegas for an initial check-up. It was revealed that none of them sustained any serious injuries. However, the red-and-purple bruises on Jedrzejczyk's face were quite prominent in the couple of pictures and videos she uploaded on her social media accounts following the event.
Speaking on the podcast, the 32-year-old admitted that she does not like how she looks with scars and blemishes on her face because of the kind of person she is. But it comes as a part and parcel of the sport, so she has to make her peace with it.
"Honestly, I know I’m in a man’s sport, but I don’t think there is a sport for a girl or a sport for a guy – the world is free, (and) it’s the 21st century. I’m a very clean person, (and) my aesthetic, I like to keep it clean. My clothing...I take showers about four or five times a day! I’m very girly, so I hate myself when I’m like this, but that’s the price we have to pay."
Jedrzejczyk shared how the injuries fared in the days right after the fight - the swelling on her head started to go down but she had very little vision in her left eye. It was rough, she said, but she found a way to laugh about it.
"There are still a few bruises, but I was laughing about the memes after my fight. Even though I cut myself off from social media I was still laughing, but I’m telling you guys from the next day, the swelling in my forehead went down and I couldn’t see out my left eye for two days. I had a vision of only five percent in my left eye - it was pretty rough. It is what it is, the swelling went down."
Jedrzejczyk talks about the 'bad side' of fighting
Like every other profession, fighting has its own set of cons. One of the most significant ones is the toll it takes on the fighters' physical health. It is the one thing about her job that Jedrzejczyk does not like, but she is thankful to her current employers for taking care of that.
"There’s always a [bad] side to your job or your [profession]. I hate it, man, I hate it and I want to take care of my health. Being an athlete, being in this sport, it changes your body; it changes your head, your mind; how you look and how you walk. It cost me a lot of sacrifices, changes in my body and I’m still a woman, I want to be attractive. And I want to be a mother in the future so I always want to take care of my health. In the UFC you have everything - good healthcare and they’re always taking good care of us."
But things are fine now with her head and everything else, Jedrzejczyk shared, and the only medical procedure she went through was a cosmetic surgery on her ear in her home country Poland.
