Joanna Jędrzejczyk Would Come Back for BMF Championship
Jessica Andrade has been in UFC President Dana White’s ear about cheating on a female version of the Baddest Mother (expletive) belt that the men compete for. White isn’t on record as to whether the promotion would consider it for the women fighters. It wasn’t supposed to be a thing for the men, either.
But the fans enjoyed the gimmick, and MMAfighting latest news shows that two more BMF title fights have taken place. If White can get a commitment from fighters like Joanne Jędrzejczyk, maybe there is a chance the UFC could do a women’s version of the belt.
The BMF belt was created as a joke. Nate Diaz said he was fighting for the imaginary belt when he took on Anthony Pettis at UFC 241. When he beat Pettis, Diaz said he wanted to defend the title against Jorge Masvidal. The UFC decided to play along and created a belt for a one-off event.
But fans enjoyed the event. Fighters like Jędrzejczyk wanting to come out of retirement may encourage the UFC to try and set up some older fighters against younger contenders.
Joanne Had a Rough End to Career
Jędrzejczyk’s willingness to come back for a big fight is a little surprising. No one has ever doubted the Polish fighters’ toughness. But things didn’t end well for her.
In 2020, Jędrzejczyk engaged in a fight with Zhang Weili for the strawweight title that many people consider the greatest women’s MMA fight in UFC history. Jędrzejczyk hit Weili with a lot of strong strikes, but the damage Weili inflicted was gruesome. Following the fight, the best MMA news sites had images of Jędrzejczyk showing serious signs of damage. She was swollen and looked disfigured from the war.
While Jędrzejczyk did return for a rematch with Weili a little over two years later, she wasn’t the same fighter. Jędrzejczyk was knocked out in the second round by a spinning back fist. Jędrzejczyk ended her career with a 16-5 record but lost five of her final seven fights.
Who Would Make Sense of a Female BMF Opponent?
Jędrzejczyk returning to fight Andrade may be the most sexy matchup for both parties. Andrade would be after revenge. When the two women met for the UFC strawweight title at UFC 211 in May 2017, Jędrzejczyk picked up a win by decision.
While Andrade would later win the strawweight title herself, getting that win back would be a powerful motivator for her. Jędrzejczyk would get an opportunity to go out on a positive note after a brutal loss a few years back. Andrade has a fierce reputation.
The MMA latest updates show that Andrade holds the record for the most finishes in UFC strawweight history, with nine. This matchup makes the most sense. Weili is still the champion and is still levels above Jędrzejczyk. Rose Namajunas famously beat Jędrzejczyk twice, but she went up a weight class and may not be interested in the trilogy fight.
Would You Really Want to Follow the Last BMF Fight?
Retiring the BMF belt was a strong possibility after how things went at UFC 300. Max Holloway and Justin Gaethje put on a wild spectacle in the final 15 seconds of the fight. Holloway pointed to the center of the octagon, and both men fired wild punches at each other.
Holloway connected with a vicious punch that planted Gaethje on the canvas with one second remaining in the fight. It was a wild end to a battle and was the best-case scenario for having such a championship. Holloway’s knockout raised the fight bar to a level that will be hard to replicate.
What Made Joanna a BMF?
The strawweight division was still in its infancy when Jędrzejczyk arrived on the UFC scene. Carla Esparza was the inaugural champion and was tasked with defending it for the first time against Jędrzejczyk. Jędrzejczyk planted Esparza in the second round at UFC 185 to win the championship in March 2015.
It set Jędrzejczyk up for one of the most dominant title runs in any UFC division. She defended her belt in five consecutive bouts over the next two years. The last of her title wins was the win over Andrade.
Namajunas Spoils the Party
Jedrzejcyzk’s downfall was surprising to anyone following MMAfighting latest news. She was set to fight Namanunas at UFC 217. Namajunas had previously lost the inaugural title fight to Esparza.
But Namajunas saw she had gained good experience from her previous defeats. Namajunas knocked out Jędrzejczyk in the first round. During a rematch five months later, Namajunas won a unanimous decision to cement that the first fight was no fluke.
But Jędrzejczyk didn’t get discouraged. She took on dangerous challenges after dropping her belt. Jędrzejczyk went up in weight to fight Valentina Shevchenko. While Jędrzejczyk never seriously challenged Shevchenko in their fight, the bout did go the distance.
Jędrzejczyk Was Always a Gamer
Generally, I’m against fighters coming back after a few years to compete again. Things don’t usually end well for those athletes. If they don’t need the money and are doing it strictly for pride or to regain past glory, there needs to be someone in their corner telling them their time has passed.
With Jędrzejczyk, however, there are plenty of appealing matchups on the table. If a female BMF belt is created, she would be a natural choice to compete in the division. Jędrzejczyk is one of the UFC’s greatest female champions and has attempted to win championships in two different weight divisions.
While Jędrzejczyk was unsuccessful in becoming a fighter to join the class of two-division champions, she was willing to try. Jedrzejeczyk was an all-action fighter who always pushed the envelope. She likely won’t come back, but it would be fun to see her give it a shot.
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By Dean McHugh.
