For Karolina Kowalkiewicz, the opportunity to fight in her home country doesn’t come with added pressure.
Kowalkiewicz meets Jodie Esquibel Saturday in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 118. The 32-year-old has dropped her last two fights, falling to strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Claudia Gadelha.
“I never feel pressure before a fight, I love what I do. I feel pressure when I am hungry and I can’t eat a cookie,” she said. “A few years ago, nobody knew UFC in Poland and now everybody knows that UFC is the biggest organization in the world”
After winning her first 10 pro fights, including three inside the Octagon, Kowalkiewicz understands that she has to focus on the fight at hand and not anything other than that.
“Now I am not thinking about my next fight. I am focused on Saturday and on Jodie. After that we will see,” she said. “I see only one scenario on Saturday – only I can win because we are in Poland. This is my home.”
