Former UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk is set to return to the division she once ruled opposite long-time contender Michelle Waterson, per ESPN’s Brett Okamoto. The bout will reportedly headline a UFC Fight Night card scheduled for October 12.
Breaking: Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Michelle Waterson verbally agreed to headline UFC Fight Night on Oct. 12, per sources. pic.twitter.com/kGuCi9wejL
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) July 3, 2019
Joanna Jedrzejczyk last fought in the UFC women’s flyweight division, where she battled Valentina Shevchenko for the vacant title. She lost this fight via unanimous decision. Her next most recent outing occurred in her native strawweight division, where she picked up a solid decision win over Tecia Torres. This victory served to separate her from a pair of losses to Rose Namajunas, the first of which, a first-round knockout, ended her long-time reign as UFC strawweight queen.
Given that Namajunas recently surrendered the title to Jessica Andrade, who Joanna Jedrzejczyk previously defeated, this bout with Waterson is rife with title implications.
In fact, Michelle Waterson is already viewed by many as the top contender in the division. “The Karate Hottie” is currently on a three-fight win-streak, having recently defeated Karolina Kowalkiewicz, Felice Herrig, and Cortney Casey, all by decision. Prior to this streak, she came up short to Torres and Namajunas.
Needless to say, the winner of this fight will be well positioned for a fight with the winner of Jessica Andrade and Weili Zhang’s upcoming strawweight title fight.
At present, no other fighters have been confirmed for this October 12 card, which is expected to occur in San Francisco, California. Stay tuned for updates on that.
Who do you think will come out on top when Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Michelle Waterson meet in the cage this October? Make your predictions in the comments section down below.
This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 7/3/2019.