UFC: Joanna Jedrzejczyk Opens Up On The Negative Side Of Fighting

Three weeks ago the MMA community witnessed one of the greatest UFC title fights in history, when the UFC strawweight champion Weili Zhang took on former champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 248. The five-round war ended with ‘Magnum’ earning a razor close split decision victory.

Even with the loss, Joanna was the point of attention after the fight, due to massive hematoma on the Polish fighters’ forehead. It became a viral sensation for all the wrong reasons.

Talking on MMA Fighting‘s Eurobash podcast, Joanna said that having a visible injury was difficult for a person like her to deal with.

“Honestly, I know I’m in a man’s sport, but I don’t think there is a sport for a girl or a sport for a guy – the world is free, it’s the 21st century. I’m a very clean person, (and) my aesthetic, I like to keep it clean. My clothing…I take showers about four or five times a day! I’m very girly, so I hate myself when I’m like this, but that’s the price we have to pay.”

Joanna says that there are negatives in any occupation and for fighters, they can be quite scary.

“There’s always a [bad] side to your job or your [profession]. I hate it, man, I hate it and I want to take care of my health. Being an athlete, being in this sport, it changes your body; it changes your head, your mind; how you look and how you walk. It cost me a lot of sacrifices, changes in my body and I’m still a woman, I want to be attractive. And I want to be a mother in the future so I always want to take care of my health. In the UFC you have everything – good healthcare and they’re always taking good care of us,” she said.

In the days that followed UFC 248, MMA fans around the world posted memes online of Joanna’s hematoma. Which the 32 year old saw the funny side of. Despite the severity of her injuries, including not being able to see out of her left eye for two days.

“There are still a few bruises, but I was laughing about the memes after my fight. Even though I cut myself off from social media I was still laughing, but I’m telling you guys from the next day, the swelling in my forehead went down and I couldn’t see out my left eye for two days. I had a vision of only five percent in my left eye – it was pretty rough. It is what it is, the swelling went down.”

MMA is an unforgiving sport. With fighters getting numerous health issue even after retiring, the former UFC strawweight champion didn’t want to keep anything to chance.

“I had an X-ray, I had an ultrasound, I had everything,” she said. “I went to the plastic surgeon in Poland and I small medical procedure on my ear. Everything is good with my head. I’m good!”

As of this moment, the polish fighter is serving a medical suspension of two months. She will be eligible to return to training after the 22nd of April.

What does the future hold for Joanna Jedrzejczyk?


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