Joanna-Waterson Eyed For October

Joanna Jedrzejczyk will have an interesting return to the strawweight division on October 12th, as she will face off against fellow top contender Michelle Waterson inside the Octagon.

First reported by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Jedrzejczyk and Waterson have verbally agreed to the fight, which would headline a UFC on ESPN+ card at a venue yet to be announced, marking “Joanna Champion’s” first fight at 115 pounds since defeating Tecia Torres in 2018, predicated by back-to-back losses to now former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas.

Jedrzejczyks’ move back to 115 pounds comes after a loss in December to Valentina Shevchenko for the then vacant flyweight title by unanimous decision.

While Jedrzejczyk has lost three of her last four fights, Waterson has won her last three fights, most recently in March against Karolina Kowalkiewicz.

With Rose Namajunas’ future in question, the winner of this fight could be considered the mandatory challenger for current strawweight champion Jessica Andrade, unless Andrade loses on August 31st to Weili Zhang in the UFC’s return to China.

Report: ESPN