Joanna ‘Violence’ a role model in defeat: S#!@ happens everywhere

The pre-fight trash talk between then UFC women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk and challenger Rosa Namajunas took a hard turn towards the end. Namajunas suggested she was a PSA for mental health awareness, as she had suffered and achieved much. Jedrzejczyk had no love.

You are mentally unstable and you are broken already, she said. And I will break you in the fight.

Then Namajunas won via KO in the very first round, handing Jedrzejczyk her first MMA loss ever. Namajunas was Saint Rose in victory, and Jedrzejczyk gave a lesson in how to handle losing with strength and grace. There were suggestions that Joanna let her emotions get the best of her, as many suggest happened to Ronda Rousey.

At the post-fight press conference, Joanna knocked that thought out.

No, please, don’t compare me to Ronda Rousey,” she said, as transcribed by Alexander K. Lee for MMA Fighting. “I love her so much and we have a very good relationship but please, let’s leave this bulls*** away. I never take fights personal and I’m not emotional when I’m fighting. Everything went so smooth during this camp, it was a very long camp, for 13 weeks I was training with American Top Team. Just a big surprise and this is what happens.

Big congrats to Rose. I’m happy for her, but I will be back stronger. It was not personal. The things which happen before the fight have nothing to do with this fight. It was a good punch, she cut me off, I really don’t know what happened. It’s the fight, you know? We take this risk.

I must sit and talk to Dana and the UFC. I think I’ve been a good athlete and good champion for the UFC. That’s it. I think I deserve the rematch, if I will not get the rematch, we’ll see.

The fight ending was emphatic, without questions, so there will be no immediate rematch. Namajunas likely faces Jessica Andrade, next, who lost to Jedrzejczyk, but returned to defeat #2 contender Claudia Gadelha.

I want my belt back and that’s the thing,” said Jedrzejczyk. “It’s probably going to be the biggest goal right now to get my belt back because s*** happens everywhere, so it was a mistake, it was a big surprise. I cannot say it was a lucky punch. She had a very good gameplan for this, she cut me off, that’s it, but this night was crazy, it was a pleasure for me to fight at the Garden, back to New York City to fight at UFC 217. It was not a lucky night for me, Cody, and Michael, but we are professional athletes, we moving forward.

Namajunas will return, although it’s not clear who she would fight next, as the division was near cleaned out. First, though, she gets to relax.

I will have some holiday with my family, said Jedrzejczyk. I will fly back home – I was pretty busy for the last year – so I will fly home to Poland just hang out with my parents, my family, and we will see. I have so many things going on. I work with WME-IMG, with Brad Slater*, it’s a pleasure for me. I have my manager in Poland, we have so many plans.

I just lost the title, I lost the belt, okay, maybe I’m crying now but I’m not going to cry – like I said, I will turn the page and I will be back stronger. It’s not going to change me as an athlete or as a person.

*Slater is the agent for Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Jon ‘Bones’ Jones, Kevin Costner, Forest Whitaker, Ben Affleck, and Joanna Jedrzejczyk, among others.