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Joanna Jedrzejczyk is back in title contention. Following her win over Michelle Waterson a few months ago, the former Champion has established herself as the next-in-line to battle with the Chinese Strawweight Champion Zhang Weili.
It's certainly an interesting stylistic fight, one that many believe will be unfavorable to Jedrzejczyk. The Polish fighter has admitted in the past that she declined fights against Zhang, but the timing has seemingly worked out well and the two will go head-to-head at UFC 248, in what is presumably the co-main event.
Jedrzejczyk appeared on the UFC Unfiltered podcast to talk about her upcoming fight, stating that she believes that Jessica Andrade, the woman Zhang beat for the title, is a very similar fighter.
She's beaten Andrade before, which is likely to give her confidence when she goes up against Zhang as well (H/T theScore):
“They (Zhang and Andrade) both are are very similar fighters. Going forward, throwing loopy punches, looking for good wrestling, like strong wrestling. They’re not very technical fighters but they’re very, very strong, so I think this fight is going to be very similar. I will have to cut the angles, slip, counter, use my timing, my length, my reach.”
She admitted that Zhang has a size advantage but believes that her championship experience will be what makes the difference. Referring to herself as a "real five-rounder", Jedrzejczyk said:
“She’s so big. She’s big. She’s huge and she throws very hard punches. But I’m more experienced. I’ve been through these championship bouts so many times, so I’m a real five-rounder.”
It's going to be an interesting fight to watch. If Zhang can put Jedrzejczyk away, then it will truly cement her position as the queen of the 115 lb division. She's the reigning Champion in the strongest women's division in the company and will have to go through some tough contenders.
Until then, we're excited to see how Zhang vs Jedrzejczyk plays out at UFC 248.
