In the wake of her shocking stoppage loss to Rose Namajunas at UFC 217 in November, Joanna Jedrzejczyk decided to no longer work with the team that handled her nutrition. That, combined with her demeanor and the way she fought, led many to believe she had a very difficult weight cut before the fight.
And in an interview on The MMA Hour Jedrzejczyk confirmed it, detailing all the issues in the lead-up and how it ended up being a ‘miracle’ that she made the weight (via MMA Fighting):
“Man, I felt so bad, I had to cut 15 pounds in 14 hours; I did it in 14 hours.”
“I think Perfecting Athletes couldn’t believe that I did that. I start my weight cut at 5pm on Thursday and I was on weight five minutes before 11am on Friday, so it was a miracle. I was praying to God for this miracle.
“And it happened. I took this mentally. I was crying, I was so weak but I believed it. I said to one of the Perfecting Athletes team, ‘Hey, it’s a shame for a champion to not make her weight’, and then I made it — a thing I couldn’t believe.”
She stated that she just got some fluids and went to sleep after the brutal cut, and woke up with numb legs. She was talked down by a doctor but woke up the next day no better. An IV would have helped, but she thought they might cancel the fight if she asked for one. So she persevered.
Finally, she explained the break with Perfecting Athletes came down to them screwing up her cut, starting with her coming in light:
“I was light in this camp.
“I was like 127 on the Friday and Saturday a week before the fight. We were planning to get me to 125 by Tuesday, but my weight went up on Sunday to 130 and I couldn’t drop the weight for three or four days. I did everything that I could, and it’s their mistake. I started my weight cut with the limit at 130, so it was almost impossible to make that weight.”
Jedrzejczyk and Namajunas will rematch for the title in the co-main event of UFC 223 in April.
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