After defeating Tecia Torres at UFC on FOX 30 late last month, former UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk remained antagonistic towards current titleholder Rose Namajunas. During the post-fight presser, the Polish striker refused to recognize “Thug Rose” as the best female 115-pounder in the UFC today.
Namajunas’ fiancé Pat Barry issued the first response on her behalf, stating Jedrzejczyk could be “f—king herself over” with her remarks. During a backstage interview with MMA Fighting at UFC 227, Namajunas responded by essentially echoing Barry’s previous statement.
“It don’t really bother me. I know at this point it just kind of sounds silly,” Namajunas said. “The more she talks, the more she just makes herself sound stupid. For me, I like to just try and be positive about everything as much as possible. Of course, you can get dragged into silly s—.”
“I just remind myself that she was a great champion. I looked up to her at one point in my life for a reason and I just try and remember what she did for the sport and just kind of leave it at that. She was a great champion, but now it’s my time. And eventually she’s gotta come to terms with that and be OK with it.”
Despite such comments, Namajunas believes Jedrzejczyk really knows she was defeated deep down, and she claims it showed through actions.
“I think you can just look at her face after our second fight, just look at her face and know how she really felt,” she said. “Body language kind of shows more than what the words really say or mean. To me, it looked like she was trying to make herself believe in it, that she really won. When she really knew, at the end of the day, that I won the fight.”
As for her next opponent, Namajunas does not have a clear idea about who she will end up facing next.
“It’s the perfect time now to rehab that and just get better as a martial artist,” Namajunas said. “And to really sit back and see who’s the real contender in the division. Right now, I think things are a little shaken up a bit. There’s not really somebody clearly to challenge at the moment.”
Per the official UFC strawweight rankings, Jedrzejczyk is situated at the number one spot, followed by Jessica Andrade and Claudia Gadelha at number two and three, respectively.