Champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk doesn't 'have big boobies,' but 'I want people to remember me as the best'

UFC strawweight champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk is an original gangster, or so says Tyron Woodley.

During Wednesday’s UFC 205 media call, she commanded reporters’ attention with a gusto that prompted the welterweight champ to interject with some unsolicited praise.

“Who said that? Tyron? It’s good to hear you,” Jedrzejczyk said with a laugh.

If nothing else, the strawweight champ’s certainly a trailblazer. She’s held the title with an iron grip since decimating inaugural champ Carla Esparza, and then taking out Jessica Penne, Valerie Letourneau and Claudia Gadelha.

Now that the UFC is ready for its New York City closeup at UFC 205, taking over Madison Square Garden for the banner Nov. 12 pay-per-view event, Jedrzejczyk is eager to capitalize on the spotlight.

She joked she could “finally” make some money for her upcoming fourth title defense, trolled the call’s operator, and even impersonated her opponent when she dropped off the call.

“I’m very happy, but Joanna is the best,” Jedrzejczyk (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) told MMAjunkie with a laugh.

The 29-year-old Polish champion, who’s No. 1 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA women’s strawweight rankings, certainly isn’t shy about her place in MMA. She might be fighting alongside the sport’s biggest star, UFC featherweight champ and 205 headliner Conor McGregor, but she won’t cower in anyone’s shadow, especially the female colleagues whose looks bring attention.

She brashly declared, “I’m not the prettiest one, I don’t have big boobies or I’m not American, but I want people to remember me as the best female fighter.”

She’ll get another chance to prove that when she meets No. 4 ranked Karolina Kowalkiewicz (10-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC), who’s unbeaten as a pro and has won three straight in the UFC.

Jedrzejczyk beat the challenger in her amateur MMA career, but she anticipates a bigger threat this time around.

“(Karolina) had three fights, and she won against Rose (Namajunas), who was supposed to be my next challenger, but I’m happy for Karolina, for Polish MMA,” Jedrzejczyk said. “This is going to be a historical moment for female MMA in Poland, and for MMA in Poland.”

When Jedrzejczyk and Kowalkiewicz square off, it’ll be early morning in their native country. The champ eventually wants to come home to fight in 2017, but she’s also got her sights set on bigger things.

“I want to do two, three fights next year, and I want to fight one or two more times in the strawweight division, and I would like to fight at 125 (pounds),” she said.

Currently, a women’s flyweight division doesn’t exist in the UFC. The promotion has flirted with the idea, pairing Letourneau with Joanne Calderwood for a one-off fight. Jedrzejczyk now trains with the famed American Top Team and said she can make the weight easily. Eventually, though, she’d like to conquer more ground. Winning titles in two weight divisions would put her in an elite club of fighters in the UFC. In women’s MMA, it would separate her from the rest of the pack.

On her current trajectory, you get the sense she’s going to get what she wants.

For more on UFC 205, check out the UFC Rumors section of MMAjunkie.