Joanna Jedrzejczyk wants Ronda Rousey's record, but instead will history repeat itself at UFC 217?

UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk looked in Rose Namajunas’ direction during Thursday’s UFC 217 press conference and delivered a message that should’ve sounded familiar to fight fans.

And not necessarily in a good way, either.

“I think this press conference is a little bit too much, and after the second face-off, she’s going to be more stressing out about our fight on Saturday,” Jedrzejczyk said, ever so confidently. “I think you cannot be the champion, because you just can’t do this. You can’t deal with the media. You can’t deal with the pressure. It’s too much for you.”

When have we heard something like this before? Which former UFC champion once said essentially the same thing, claiming the challenger wouldn’t be ready to handle the responsibility of holding the title?

Did you forget?

It was Ronda Rousey during the build-up to her title fight against Holly Holm nearly two years ago at UFC 193.

“No, I don’t think she would be comfortable being champion,” Rousey said back then. “I think it would take away from her quality of life to be perfectly honest. I think this kind of environment isn’t what Holly would like. I hope she takes the money from losing and has a great life, one she would like a lot more than this one.”

We all know how that ended – with a stunning loss and one of MMA’s biggest upsets.

Now look, I’m not saying Namajunas will dominate and finish Jedrzejczyk with a devastating head kick or anything crazy. In fact, I don’t think Namajunas (6-3 MMA, 4-2 UFC) wins because, hello, how could you pick against Jedrzejczyk (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC), a 6-1 favorite, at this point?

But there are some striking similarities that cannot be ignored. In addition to what’s been said, there’s also the fact that those words were aimed at quiet, unassuming opponents. Namajunas, like Holm, isn’t one to talk trash. And it’s felt like Jedrzejczyk, like Rousey, has forced trying to sell the fight with antics – for instance, twice crossing the line and touching her fist to Namajunas’ face during staredowns. With Rousey, it was blowing up on Holm during weigh-ins.

And there’s this: Jedrzejczyk seemingly is looking past Namajunas, much like Rousey did Holm. Granted, Rousey’s future focus wasn’t related to MMA; she’d already decided beforehand to take time off to focus on acting. At least with Jedrzejczyk, it’s about fighting – breaking Rousey’s consecutive title-defense record and then dominating two other divisions.

But still. Focus on the task at hand first.

Jedrzejczyk can tie Rousey’s record with her sixth straight defense if she wins her pay-per-view bout on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York.

But don’t you kind of wonder if the stars are lining up for history to repeat itself in a negative way for the champion?

I do.

For more on UFC 217, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.