Former UFC champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk feels she made the right decision to retire from MMA earlier this year. But there is a concept the promotion could present that could entice one more octagon appearance.
A little less than three years since Jorge Masvidal picked up a TKO win over Nate Diaz in the main event of UFC 244 in November 2019 to become the inaugural “BMF” champion, Jedrzejczyk, who announced her retirement following a stoppage loss to Zhang Weili at June’s UFC 275 event, would answer the call if UFC President Dana White wanted to present another version of the championship.
“Maybe I could come back for the female ‘BMF’ title,” Jedrzejczyk told MMA Fighting in Las Vegas. “Look, I’m retired. I am retired, but in the future, maybe I would fight for the ‘BFMF’ [belt].
“I don’t know [who I would fight], there’s not that many ‘BFMF,’ real O.G. female fighters left.”
Prior to UFC 275, Jedrzejczyk’s most recent outing was against Weili in an all-time classic at UFC 248, where the 34-year-old dropped a split decision in her quest to regain the 115-pound title. Jedrzejczyk doesn’t have any immediate regrets about her decision to hang up the gloves, but she hasn’t had the chance to understand the weight of it all since it happened.
“I’ve been busy,” Jedrzejczyk explained. “After Singapore, I got back home for six nights only. After my fight, I went to Europe for six days, then [Las Vegas] for three days, so I haven’t had time to sit and think about my retirement and my life in general. I’m happy, but it’s still hard. It’s hard for me to digest.
Widely considered the greatest strawweight in UFC history, Jedrzejczyk feels she has a lot to offer the promotion in other ways besides competing. The longtime titleholder would be more than happy to continue her journey with the UFC in a different capacity to stay involved with the sport, and its fans.
“I want to stick with the UFC,” Jedrzejczyk said. “I’m looking forward to sitting down with Dana White to talk about my future, what I could possibly do for the UFC and the fans because there’s no sport without fans — any sport — and I’m very happy to be [at events], be around the fans, and I definitely see myself doing something with the UFC — broadcasting, commentating, just being around.
“I will miss you guys [as a fighter], but I’ll definitely be around.”
