Joanna Jedrzejczyk eyes more than UFC 211 title defense, wants pound-for-pound top spot

UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk already considers herself to be the world’s greatest female fighter. However, that’s still not good enough.

Jedrzejczyk (13-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) wants the No. 1 spot on the overall pound-for-pound rankings. And in her mind, winning her UFC 211 title bout with Jessica Andrade (16-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC), which was announced today, would go a long way in moving toward her desired position.

“Pound-for-pound, yes, I am the best pound-for-pound woman fighter,” Jedrzejczyk said today during a Facebook Q&A with fans. “But I want to be the best pound-for-pound fighter.”

UFC 211 takes place May 13 at American Airlines Center in Dallas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass, though the lineup hasn’t been finalized.

Jedrzejczyk, No. 1 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA strawweight rankings, has ruled her division with an iron fist since she captured the belt from inaugural champion Carla Esparza at UFC 185 in March 2015. Jedrzejczyk already has recorded four consecutive title defenses against Jessica Penne, Valerie Letoruneau, Claudia Gadelha and Karolina Kowalkiewicz, but is still rarely included in the pound-for-pound discussion.

Though pound-for-pound rankings are entirely subjective, Jedrzejczyk, 29, is likely held back due to the infancy of her division. The strawweight class has been part of the UFC for less than three years, meaning the top fighters are still in the process of proving exactly where they stand.

There’s no doubt Jedrzejczyk is currently superior to everyone in her category and has beaten numerous talented foes in the process. She said the 115-pound division is loaded with talent, but her goal is to run through them all then potentially move to another weight and try to dominate there, as well.

“The strawweight division is the lightest division in the UFC, but it’s a really hard division,” Jedrzejczyk said. “There’s lots of talent in this division. I hope one day I’m going to become a two weight classes champion.”

Before Jedrzejczyk can look too far ahead, though, she has arguably her greatest test ahead in the form of Andrade. The Brazilian has torn through her competition in arguably even more impressive fashion than the champion since moving down from bantamweight to strawweight this past summer and will attempt to keep that momentum going in her first UFC title bout.

Jedrzejczyk had nothing but praise for No. 5-ranked Andrade. However, she said the UFC 211 showdown will end the same way as all of her title bouts, with UFC ring announcer Bruce Buffer saying, “And still” while UFC President Dana White wraps the gold around her waist.

“Jessica is a very dangerous opponent, but I will put on a great performance and a great fight,” Jedrzejczyk said. “This fight will be awesome. It’s going to be a really good fight. She did an amazing job in her last fight with Angela Hill, so I think she’s a good challenger for me. I’m very, very excited for me, for the UFC, and I’m making history one more time because I won my belt in Dallas, and I’m going to defend my title also in Dallas.”

For more on UFC 211, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.