A belt? Yeah, that’s great. But it’s not the most important part of what Agnieszka Niedzwiedz is trying to accomplish Friday.

Niedzwiedz (10-0) headlines Invicta FC 26 looking to dethrone flyweight champ Jennifer Maia (14-4-1), which means that, at 22, the Polish challenger has a chance to add a gold ribbon to what has so far been a strictly victorious career.

That conquest, of course, excites her, but for reasons beyond the shiny object she’ll get to show for it.

“The most important for me is knowing that Maia is, right now, the No.1 in our division,” Niedzwiedz told MMAjunkie ahead of the bout, which airs on UFC Fight Pass from Scottish Rite Temple in Kansas City, Mo. “I know when I beat her, I’ll be the best in the world. This is more important for me than the belt. The belt is a great thing, but it’s only extra.”

If you want to raise your profile in the U.S., beating a more experienced
champ in a headlining bout is one way to do it. Doing it after winning yet another headliner, against yet another ex-title-challenger and seasoned vet in Vanessa Porto, is even better.

But while she understands the big step a title win would be in terms of a popularity boost, getting her name out there isn’t really what Niedzwiedz has set out to do.

“People in Poland don’t know who I am,” Niedzwiedz said with a laugh. “For sure, in the world I’m more popular than in Poland. But I don’t care. I’m not doing this, because I want to have a lot of fans and stuff like that.”

The private jets and high-profile TV spots that seem to be the perks of a champion’s life for some, that certainly doesn’t seem to be the case for Niedzwiedz.

“Right now I’m happy that I’m not so popular, because I can have a normal life,” Niedzwiedz said. “I don’t like this media stuff and whole part of MMA. So I’m happy that I can be with my family in peace.”

That family includes a two-year old son who Niedzwiedz will unequivocally tell you is her main priority, so much so that joining the season of “The Ultimate Fighter” that crowned the UFC’s inaugural 125-pound champion in Nicco Montano never was even a thought.

Recognition in MMA, Niedzwiedz understands, will come with time. Besides, she might as well enjoy it now. If her lofty goals come to fruition, the days of laying low are numbered.

“For sure I want to have the UFC belt,” Niedzwiedz said. “It’s the biggest goal in MMA. So it’s my goal.”

‘I’m not afraid to lose’

Being the UFC’s 125-pound champion is an objective, however, that Niedzwiedz is putting on the backburner for now. With her focus geared entirely toward Maia, the flyweight knows that whether she wins or loses will be the difference between post-fight plans A and B.

And she’s not stressing over either of them.

Winning, though, is the plan – and it’s one that Maia has been able to execute so far. After her professional debut in 2012, when Niedzwiedz was only 17, she went on a tear in the European scene. By the time of her U.S. debut, at Invicta FC 18, she’d finished all but one of her fights.

As many fighters will tell you, there are valuable lessons to be taken from setbacks. Niedzwiedz, of course, hasn’t had any of those in MMA. But that’s one of the aspects in which a decade-long career in another combat sport comes in handy.

“I’m not afraid to lose,” Niedzwiedz said. “I lost many, many times in judo. My family, my friends and my trainer, they don’t give me that added pressure that, ‘You have to win, you have to win.’

“I’m going to fight, and I know that either I win or lose, I must come home to my family. I know they love me no matter what.”

To which she promptly added, with a laugh.

“For sure, it won’t be in this fight with Maia,” Niedzwiedz said. “Because I want to win this fight really bad. So it’s not yet.”

Of course, coping with adversity is not all her athletic background was helpful in. If it hadn’t been for the fact that she’d been involved in judo since she was 7, it’s unlikely that Niedzwiedz would have been given the suggestion to try MMA in what was only her third jiu-jitsu session.

And even more unlikely that merely a month later, having just picked up on the basics of striking, she’d be doing her debut.

“I took that fight, and it felt really cool for me,” Niedzwiedz said matter of factly. “And I don’t know. I took another fight, another and another.”

Ultimately, the adrenaline appealed to her. That and, Niedzwiedz calmly adds, the fact that she “can punch and the blood is coming.” One thing led to the other and here she is, in her early twenties, taking the steps toward achieving her ultimate goal of being a UFC champion.

The next step, of course, is Maia. And beating her will mean accomplishing something that five other women, over a three-year period, weren’t able to do.

As she heads into yet another 25-minute bout, Niedzwiedz welcomes the thought of meeting an opponent with reliable cardio. After all, Maia did recently go five rounds with both “The Ultimate Fighter 26” semifinalist Roxanne Modafferi and fellow countrywoman Porto.

But knowing that she’ll have a game opponent should it come down to the championship rounds doesn’t mean Niedzwiedz is planning on using them.

“My gameplan is simple: I want to finish the fight before the time,” Niedzwiedz said. “In the second round, maximum.”

For more on Invicta FC 26, check out the MMA Events section of the site.

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