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Joanna Jedrzejczyk after UFC 217 title loss: ‘Don’t compare me to Ronda Rousey’
Filed under: Featured, News, UFC, Videos
NEW YORK – Joanna Jedrzejczyk is dismissing any parallels to Ronda Rousey’s career after losing the UFC strawweight title on Saturday at UFC 217.
Jedrzejczyk (14-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) fell short of tying Rousey’s record for most consecutive title defenses by a female champion when she suffered a first-round knockout loss to Rose Namajunas (7-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) on the UFC 217 pay-per-view card at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Prelims aired on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.
She was emotional after the fight, but unlike when Rousey’s long title reign and undefeated record came to an end courtesy of Holly Holm, the Polish fighter showed up at the post-event press conference and took the loss head-on.
That alone separates her.
“Please don’t compare me to Ronda Rousey,” Jedrzejczyk told reporters at UFC 217’s post-fight news conference, which MMAjunkie attended. “I love her so much, and we have very good relationship, but please let’s leave this bull(expletive) away. I never take fights personal, and I’m not emotional when fighting.”
The comparisons to Rousey stem from Jedrzejczyk’s demeanor in the lead-up to UFC 217. She seemed to try harder than usual to build animosity with Namajunas, and there was some speculation that her attitude could have the potential to backfire.
Jedrzejczyk dismissed that notion, though, and said she’s not going to make any excuses for her sizable upset loss. She said she was caught off guard by Namajunas’ attacks.
“This is what happens,” Jedrzejczyk said. “Congrats to Rose, I’m happy for her, but it was not personal. This is what happened. The things which happened before the fight had nothing to do with this fight. It was a good punch. She cut me off. I really don’t know what happened, but it’s the fight. We take these risks.”
As far as what comes next, UFC President Dana White didn’t turn down the idea of booking an immediate rematch. Namajunas didn’t seem entirely opposed to it, either. Jedrzejczyk said that’s what she wants, and given the history of UFC running back fights for longtime champions, there’s a good chance she gets her wish.
“I will sit and talk to Dana and the UFC,” Jedrzejczyk said. “I think I’ve been a good athlete and a good champion for the UFC. I think I deserve the rematch. If I get the rematch we will see. I am looking forward.”
For complete coverage of UFC 217, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
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