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What's the story?
As revealed by the owner of American Top Team, Dan Lambert, Joanna Jedrzejczyk has been promised a shot at reclaiming the UFC Strawweight title if she manages to win her next fight, which will be against Michelle Waterson at UFC on ESPN+ 19 in October.
In case you didn't know...
There was a time when Joanna Jedrzejczyk was considered to be the most feared woman in the UFC. The former UFC Strawweight champion was 14-0 and had dominantly defended the title on five occasions before she came up against a dangerous underdog in Rose Namajunas.
Namajunas pulled off one of the biggest upsets in UFC history by knocking out Jedrzejczyk in the first round at UFC 217 to become the new Strawweight Champion. Jedrzejczyk, who had previously vowed to retire undefeated, subsequently lost the rematch to Namajunas at UFC 223 in convincing fashion via unanimous decision.
The Polish fighter would snap a two-fight losing streak by notching up a victory against Tecia Torres in July 2018 before moving up to Flyweight to contest against Valentina Shevchenko for the vacant Flyweight title.
She lost the Flyweight title fight against Shevchenko in a gruelling five-round fight in December last year and has since been out of action.
The heart of the matter
Dan Lambert opened up about Joanna Jedrzejczyk's future during an interview with BJPenn.com. According to Lambert, the UFC told Jedrzejczyk that she will get a crack at the Strawweight title if she defeats Michelle Waterson.
He added that Jedrzejczyk has begun training again as she now has a clear path towards potentially reclaiming the UFC Strawweight title.
“I guess I’ll tell you after camp and how the weight cut went. She has the best chance to get a title shot at strawweight. The UFC told her with a win she gets a title shot. I’m happy to see her have a clear path to get a title shot. With no clear path, she was not going to rush back. I’m happy to see her back training.”
Lambert was quick to add that Jedrzejczyk's proposed title fight will be aided by the scenario in which current Champion Jessia Andrade beats Weili Zhang at UFC Fight Night 157 at the end of August.
“From Joanna’s standpoint, the path to a title shot is quicker with Jessica holding the title. Selfishly speaking we were hoping for Jessica. She has to defend her title first [against Weili Zhang], and who knows how that goes. After Joanna’s and Jessica’s fight if they both win, the UFC will make that fight.” H/t Credit: BJPenn.com
What's next?
UFC Fight Night 161/ UFC on ESPN+19 will see Jedrzejczyk take on Michelle Waterson at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California on October 12th, 2019.
Jedrzejczyk has lost three of her last four fights while Waterson will enter the Octagon that night on the back of a 3-fight win streak. The final hurdle before the coveted title shot will certainly not be an easy one to overcome for Jedrzejczyk.
