Champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk explains why she won't predict UFC 207's Nunes-Rousey headliner

UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk is in a curious position as the UFC 207 main event between women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes and former titleholder Ronda Rousey rapidly approaches.

Jedrzejczyk (13-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) has no horse in the race from a competitive perspective, but she is a bit torn as a bystander because Nunes (13-4 MMA, 6-1 UFC) comes from her same training camp at American Top Team in Florida, while Rousey (13-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) has been touted as a friend and idol of the Polish champion.

Although Jedrzejczyk has only trained for one fight – her unanimous decision win over Karolina Kowalkiewicz at UFC 205 in November – at ATT, it’s enough for her not to side against her teammate. Her history with Rousey runs slightly deeper, though, because at one point the pair were both viewed as unbeatable champions and shared the responsibility of being the faces of women’s MMA.

Jedrzejczyk won’t be happy to see either side lose at UFC 207, and she said her relationship with both women is the reason she won’t pick a winner.

“I don’t like to give predictions for everyone,” Jedrzejczyk told MMAjunkie. “Of course I am teammates with Amanda Nunes, but I’ve had longer relationship with Ronda Rousey. She deserves to fight for this title right after she lost to Holly Holm. It’s been a while, more than a year, where she’s been out of the competition, but I’m very happy for her. I’m very happy for Ronda. I’m happy for Amanda because she can defend the title against one of the best athletes ever.”

UFC 207 takes place Dec. 30 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Nunes vs. Rousey for the 135-pound title headlines the pay-per-view main card following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Rousey hasn’t stepped in the octagon since she shared a card with Jedrzejczyk at UFC 193 in November 2015. Jedrzejczyk registered a successful title defense against Valerie Letourneau at that event, but Rousey experienced her first loss when she dropped the belt to Holly Holm courtesy of a violent head-kick knockout.

“Rowdy” attempts to regain the gold from Nunes, who began her reign atop the division with a first-round submission of Miesha Tate at UFC 200 in July. Nunes carries the momentum of a four-fight winning streak into the contest while Rousey is surrounded by mystery due to a lack of media presence in the build-up to fight night.

Jedrzejczyk wouldn’t say which fighter she believes will emerge victorious, but she did note that whoever wins is going to be forced to endure a challenging fight in order to leave with the belt.

“I think it’s going to be very difficult fight for both of them, but both of them are very, very strong,” Jedrzejczyk said. “Not just physically, but mentally as well. I don’t know who is going to win this fight but I will be watching.”

For more on UFC 207, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.