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Joanna Jedrzejczyk is in contention to be the UFC women's strawweight GOAT. She first won the belt in 2015 and successfully defended it a record five consecutive times. While she has been away from the octagon for some time now, it is expected the former champ will return in the early part of 2022.
The Polish fighter has become one of the biggest UFC names and her return fight needs to be against a quality opponent. The Pole lost her last outing in the UFC, a slobber knocker against Zhang Weili.
She was also recently removed from the UFC rankings due to inactivity. However, you can be confident that she will only be fighting the division's elite upon her return.
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Her return fight will also provide a major opportunity to whoever her next opponent ends up being. Every Joanna Jedrzeczyk fight draws plenty of attention and, as her last fight proved, a win over her can elevate a fighter's status.
With plenty of options out there, here are five potential opponents for Joanna Jedrzejczyk's return fight:
#5. Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. winner of Marina Rodriguez/ Yan Xionan
Jedrzejczyk has stated that she is in a place in her career where she only wants to fight opponents who interest her. While neither Marina Rodriguez nor Yan Xionan carry much name value just yet, perhaps one of them will be able to put on a performance in their upcoming fight that changes that.
The pair are due to fight at UFC 272 on March 5 in what is a significant bout in the strawweight division. Rodriguez and Xionan are ranked third and fourth respectively and interestingly both fighters have only suffered one UFC loss each, coming at the hands of Carla Esparza in both cases.
With the winner of this fight set to become one of the elite names in the division, perhaps the former champion would then be tempted to take them on. With that being said, the timeline here may create some issues as the Polish fighter was keen to return to action around March or April herself.
#4. Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Rose Namajunas III
Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Rose Namajunas had arguably the most iconic rivalry in the history of the strawweight division. There's no doubt Jedrzejczyk would be interested in getting her revenge over the current champion but for this to be her next bout a number of things would have to fall into place.
Firstly, there is the timing. Namajunas is expected to face Carla Esparza in her next title defense. That bout is yet to be scheduled meaning unless Jedrzejczyk's return is delayed, she probably won't be going for a trilogy bout next. On top of this, it would be unlikely the Polish fighter would challenge for the belt off of a loss.
However, it's not unthinkable that it all comes together. Jedrzejczyk shared recently that Dana White had offered her a title shot if she wanted to wait until later in 2022 to fight. Should Jedrzejczyk end up waiting or should Esparza not be able to take her place in the title fight, perhaps we could see Jedrzejczyk vs. Rose III.
With so many conditions needed for this fight to happen, this isn't right up there on the top of the list.
#3. Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Carla Esparza II
As previously mentioned, Esparza is expected to challenge Rose Namajunas for the strawweight title next time out which creates a number of issues for this potential bout. Once again, it would take either an injury replacement situation or Jedrzejczyk not returning until later in the year for this one to take place.
While both scenarios are admittedly unlikely, the latter would be particularly interesting. Let us not forget, Carla Esparza won the inaugural UFC strawweight title by defeating Rose Namajunas back in 2014 before losing it in her next fight to Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
Should Carla Esparza win gold in her next fight, it would be great to see her take on Jedrzejczyk once again and see if she can stop history repeating itself. As great as this fight would be, there are simply too many obstacles at the moment for it to be ranked any higher.
#2. Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Zhang Weili II
The first fight between Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Zhang Weili is widely regarded as the single best bout in women's MMA history. Weili picked up a controversial split decision win that time around but given she is now fresh off consecutive defeats to Rose Namajunas, it could be time to run it back.
There are a number of factors that work in favor of this one. Jedrzejczyk is clearly interested in the bout and has told media outlets this could well be her next fight. Additionally, the timing ought to work for both women as both appear to not have any scheduling conflicts as of now.
The bout would be big for Jedrzejczyk as a win would almost certainly earn her a title shot. For Weili, it would provide an opportunity to bounce back from her consecutive defeats and put to bed the suggestion that the wrong woman had her hand raised in the first bout between the pair.
#1. Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Jessica Andrade II
While this may not be the most obvious next step for Jedrzeczyk, it could ultimately prove to be the best. Jessica Andrade has spent her last three fights competing at flyweight but has since stated her intention to return to the strawweight division in an effort to reclaim her title.
With the title picture seemingly occupied by Namajunas and Esparza, and Zhang Weili having fought for the belt so recently, this bout would make a ton of sense. It would guarantee the UFC had a fresh contender to introduce in the title scene and reignite the rivalry between two former champions.
Jedrzejczyk and Andrade have fought once before at UFC 211 in 2017 with the Polish fighter coming out on top via a unanimous decision. Since then, however, Andrade has won the strawweight title herself and even challenged for the flyweight title too. Here's hoping we get a rematch between these two in 2022.
