After losing her belt at UFC 217, Joanna Jedrzejczyk has come out with some very interesting comments. The fierce former champion has a lot to say about the upset loss to Rose Namajunas…
During a wild night of upsets and title fights last Saturday (November 4, 2017), UC 217 brightened a somewhat slow year. With so many of their stars either retired or absent, the UFC needed a big show in New York.
The return of Georges St-Pierre against Michael Bisping was a massive talking point. After four years away, St-Pierre trounced Bisping and claimed the middleweight belt. Cody Garbrandty and TJ Dillashaw played second fiddle with their bantamweight title tilt.
Competing for the women’s strawweight title were Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Rose Namajunas. ‘JJ’ had reigned dominant over the division since 2015. Unbeaten as an amateur and pro in MMA, Jedrzejczyk was the heavy favorite to continue her streak.
‘Thug’ Rose had other plans, and starched Joanna in one round.
Joanna Claims She Never Tapped
Although the official result was a TKO (punches), it appeared that Jedrzejczyk tapped out a split second before the fight was stopped. According to the former champion, in a discussion with MMAFighting.com, this never happened:
“Someone said that I tapped, I never tapped. Are you kidding me? It was probably that I was trying to stand up, but I didn’t. It was a piece of a second for me.”
“I know it took a while – from the punch to the ground and pound when I had the turtle position, but for me, it was a like a piece of a second. I know it was a few long seconds. It looks totally different than people think it is.”
“I didn’t tap…I didn’t tap,” Jedrzejczyk reiterated. “I heard this, like two times, but come on…I didn’t tap…I didn’t tap. It was probably I was trying to stand up.”
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JJ Says She Was Not Well Before UFC 217
“Believe me that it was a mistake, and I felt like I was not there,” Jedrzejczyk explained. “I got cut, she cut me up and I felt like I was standing next to it watching it. I was like, ‘Let me go, what happened?’”
“I didn’t see the punch, the power of the punch. She didn’t hit hard, you know, but right to the point, I don’t know what happened. I just remember that during the warm-up I was feeling slower than usual. I don’t know why I must go to the fight week and figure it out.”
“Maybe there was something wrong with my brain or head, but I don’t know,” she continued. “I will figure out what happened because it’s unusual. I have almost 100 fights in my time in boxing and kickboxing. I had 15 fights in MMA and nothing ever happened before. It was the first time I got cut, someone knocked me down.”
I’m the greatest. I’m still the champion. She’s the champion now, I’ll let her be the champion, but I’m coming back soon.”
Rose Says it’s Time For New Generation
“I’m just trying to be that positive light as much as possible,” Namajunas said. “I’m not perfect, either. But maybe we’ll figure out a way to make this a better place. … I’ve said before leading up to this fight that I feel like its time for a new era in this sport. I think we have a great opportunity as fighters and athletes to be good role models. I’m by no means perfect, but I think we can try.”
