Poland vs. Poland? Kowalkiewicz hopes for eventual fight with champ Jedrzejczyk

ORLANDO, Fla. – After a successful UFC debut, Karolina Kowalkiewicz hopes she can eventually work her way to a fight with a fellow Polish strawweight.

Kowalkiewicz (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) scored a convincing unanimous-decision win over Randa Markos (5-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC on FOX 17 main-card opener, which aired on FOX from Orlando, Fla.’s Amway Center.

Kowalkiewicz, 30, made her octagon debut after a string of fights in Poland’s KSW organization, where her path never crossed with current UFC champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk (11-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC). Despite eight straight wins overall, Kowalkiewicz’s past three victories have come via decision – two via split decision – so she probably has a little more work to do before she gets a chance to take on Jedrzejczyk.

However, Kowalkiewicz, who’s ranked No. 9 in the MMAjunkie/USA TODAY Sports MMA strawweight rankings, hopes she eventually gets her shot against No. 1-ranked Jedrzejczyk.

The feelings, though, are anything but hostile.

“I know her, and she’s really amazing,” Kowalkiewicz said. “I respect her very much. In Poland, she’s very popular.

“But one day I hope I will fight with her because she’s the best, and I want to fight with the best.”

Check out the short clip above.

And for more on UFC on FOX 17, check out the UFC Events section of the site.