Joanna Jędrzejczyk’s request for more money just got shot down.
The former strawweight champion Joanna Jędrzejczyk has been out of the UFC since March of 2020. She isn’t in a hurry to return to the UFC at this point. Jędrzejczyk spoke recently to Ariel Helwani of The MMA Hour about what it would take for her to return at this time. What it came down to were interesting fights and a lot more money. Jędrzejczyk said she wanted “A bigger piece of the cake” from the UFC and Dana White. To this White has responded.
“I have not (spoken to her). Joanna ate a lot of cake when she was champion, you know what I mean?” White explained to MMA Fighting. “She was the champ, she did very, very well, deservedly she’s a little savage and I love that kid. She was telling us, she only wants to fight title fights, but that’s not really how it works.”
Jędrzejczyk confirmed that she was waiting for another title shot with either Rose Namajunas or Zhang Weili. Since Jędrzejczyk came to the UFC all but two of her fights were title fights. She ruled the 115-pound division for two years and in that time defended the title five times before losing it to Namajunas. She has accomplished more in that division than any other fighter.
Taking time off doesn’t seem to be hurting her in terms of clout in the UFC at this time. Although she was recently taken off the rankings due to inactivity, she is still very well in the mix. Recently, Dana White used Jędrzejczyk as an example of how well fighters are paid, calling her “rich.” It seems White and Jędrzejczyk have different definitions of that term since Jędrzejczyk is seeking more.
Do you think Joanna Jedrzejczyk deserves to be paid more upon her return to the UFC?
