Joanna Jedrzejczyk has emerged this year as a personable, entertaining, violent young champion, and looks to make another defense of the UFC Strawweight Championship on Nov. 14 at UFC 193.
She’s taking on Valerie Letourneau, who enters her title shot off a three-fight UFC winning streak, defeating Elizabeth Phillips, Jessica Rakoczy, and Maryna Moroz. She talked about her improvement from fight to fight during a media conference call for the event on Thursday, and why she feels stronger than ever.
“Maybe she’s going to have a bad surprise on Nov. 14,” Letourneau said (transcribed by MMAJunkie.com). “I feel like I improved from my fight with Jessica Rakoczy to Moroz, but I feel like I’ve improved 10 times more already from my fight with Moroz to now. I just can’t wait to put it all there and show what I’m capable of. I hope I’m able to put everything into action.”
However, Jedrzejczyk had a very simple rebuttal to Letourneau’s comments, leading to the following exchange:
Jedrzejczyk: “Can I say something? I’m not not Maryna Moroz and I’m not Rakoczy. I’m Joanna Champion.”
Letourneau: “I know you’re a great fighter, Joanna. There’s no doubt about it.”
Jedrzejczyk: “That’s good. Keep it in your mind.”
The two will square off at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia, airing live on pay-per-view under the Ronda Rousey-Holly Holm main event.
Penick’s Analysis: Jedrzejczyk’s just fantastic, and that’s a great champion-to-challenger exchange. Letourneau’s looked solid in her UFC run thus far, and looked good against Moroz, but Jedrzejczyk’s a different beast entirely. It’s a chance for another showcase win for Jedrzejczyk, but Letourneau’s likely to put up a tough fight. Regardless, this is a great spot for both in support of a Ronda Rousey headlining fight.
[Photo (c) Tom Heitman via USA Today Sports]
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