We can now add another item to former UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk’s long list of accolades, achievements and awards. The striking specialist will carry the Olympic torch for her home country of Poland in the lead up to the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.<\/p>\n
Jedrzejczyk announced this news on a recent radio appearance, as reported by\u00a0sportowefakty.wp.pl<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a huge honor. MKOL (International Olympic Committee) decided that me, as a representative of mixed martial arts will carry the Olympic fire,\u201d Jedrzejczyk said (via MMANytt.com<\/a>). \u201cMMA is far away from being Olympic competition, so it\u2019s huge merit for me to represent our country on so huge international area. I\u2019m very happy with that.\u201d<\/p>\n Jedrzejczyk will not be the first UFC fighter to carry the torch, as\u00a0Antonio Rogerio Nogueira carried it for his home country of Brazil in 2016. MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko has also carried the torch for his native Russia<\/a> in the past, and even appeared in an awesome promo ahead of the winter Olympics in Sochi.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Joanna Jedrzejczyk last fought in November, when her dominant reign as UFC strawweight queen came to a skittering halt thanks to a first-round Rose Namajunas punch. Since then, she’s been campaigning for another shot at UFC gold, whether it comes in a rematch against Namajunas, or in a new matchup against another champion.<\/p>\n I am looking forward. I know I\u2019ll be back stronger then ever and sooner then you all think☝🏼| Patrz\u0119 z optymizmem w przysz\u0142o\u015b\u0107. Wiem, \u017ce wr\u00f3c\u0119 silniejsza ni\u017c kiedykolwiek i szybciej ni\u017c si\u0119 tego spodziewacie☝🏼 Thank you all for the support🙏🏼 📸 @ericcoleman1 👸🏻#thestrawweightqueen #joannajedrzejczyk #joannachampion #willbeback #soon<\/a><\/p>\n A post shared by Joanna Jedrzejczyk<\/a> (@joannajedrzejczyk) on \n