Even Without The Belt, Joanna “Still The Champ”

On October 12th,  Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Michelle Waterson headline UFC Fight Night 161, and while Joanna “Champion” is without the belt, she feels she is still the strawweight champion.

“I know I will step into the Octagon with Weili Zhang to fight for the title and I don’t even see her defending the belt once,” Jedrzejczyk told MMA Fighting.

“People say to me, ‘but you’re not the champ anymore.’ Bah. I’m not the champ? I’m still the champ, of course I’m the champ. If I don’t have the belt physically, I’m still the champ.”

While Jedrzejczyk believes she’s still the champion, she’s 0-3 in her last three title fights, two against former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas and an ill-fated move to flyweight where she’d be bested by Valentina Shevchenko.

Now Jedrzejczyk stands across from Waterson, who is looking to ride a three-fight winning streak to a win over the former champion and a shot at current champion Zhang.