There was a time when the UFC women's strawweight division was viewed by fans as then-champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk and everyone else. That was until November 2017 at UFC 217 when Rose Namajunas stunned the MMA world by quickly knocking out the seemingly invincible "Joanna Champion." Since that evening inside Madison Square Garden, the perception of the division has turned somewhat, with Namajunas earning another victory over Jedrzejczyk back in April at UFC 223 in Brooklyn via unanimous decision -- an outcome that has been disputed by the former champ -- and contenders emerging such as Jessica Andrade, Karolina Kowalkiewicz, Claudia Gadelha and Tecia Torres.
Saturday night at UFC on Fox 30 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Jedrzejczyk and Torres will enter the Octagon to help clear up the picture a bit in the suddenly-crowded strawweight division. And both women waste no time in staking their respective claim to a shot against Namajunas with a victory.
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While currently sitting in the No. 1 contender spot in the official UFC rankings, there are those who believe Jedrzejczyk has more work ahead of her if she's to earn another opportunity against Namajunas in the near future, even with a victory on Saturday night against Torres. Naturally, the ever-confident former strawweight queen has championship aspirations for her next fight, no matter who should be in possession of the belt at the time.
"Yeah, I don't care who the champion is," Jedrzejczyk told CBS Sports. "I believe in myself and know that I will get the title shot after a great, spectacular victory on Saturday over Tecia Torres."
Jedrzejczyk does have her detractors following two consecutive losses to Namajunas when it comes to earning another championship date but, especially since their last fight went the distance, fans would more than likely warm up to it in the end. Torres, who also has a defeat at the hands of Namajunas on her resume, may not be as favorably welcomed as the next challenger. Coming off a loss to No. 2-ranked contender Andrade in February at UFC on Fox 28, some may believe more work could be in order for Torres even with a victory on Saturday. However, Torres is logically using recent history to proclaim her intentions to challenge for the belt with a win.
"If I go in there and beat Joanna, I think that would put me in the No. 1 contender spot; I don't know if I'd necessarily get the next title shot or whatnot," Torres said. "But I think that no one else has been able to beat Joanna except for Rose so if I go in there, do my thing as I plan on doing and get the W, we'd be the only two people to bear her. So I don't know why we wouldn't be up there [to] fight each other again one day.
"Saturday is a non-title fight, but if everything goes right, it's a title fight on the line. She's a former champion who's defended five times, so it is what it is after the fight. But my focus now is getting the victory over her and whatever happens after that happens."
While Namajunas is the ultimate focus of every woman in the division at the moment, come Saturday when that cage door slams shut, the primary focus for Jedrzejczyk and Torres will be on one another. And Torres is ready for anything the former champion may pull out of her sleeve aside from her impeccable striking game to get back on the winning track.
"I think she may try to surprise me with something new, that's for sure; anything can happen in a fight," Torres admitted. "As far as her striking goes, I'm one of the best strikers in the division as well, so I'm ready for it. "
Jedrzejczyk may in fact bring some tricks to the table in Calgary, but what could prove even more dangerous is her laser focus. More specifically, Jedrzejczyk isn't just aiming to make even more of a mark on the strawweight division than she already has in her career, she still has aspirations of being recognized as the queen of two divisions.
Despite her recent setbacks, Jedrzejczyk still has her sights set on a potential move up to the 125-pound flyweight division to try her hand. That journey, much like her journey toward another date with Namajunas in the stacked strawweight ranks, begins against Torres on Saturday night as they sort out the divisional picture a bit.
"I was planning [on moving up] because my coaches, they see the difference, you know, when I'm weighing 125 or like around 130 than when I'm weighing 115 and how the weight cut impacts my body," Jedrzejczyk said. "So, we will see, we will see.
"Right now I'm focused on [Tecia] Torres, getting my belt back, and after that, we will see. It's always been my dream to become a two-weight champion, so it's possible. Everything is possible. Adults have a dream, it's all about chasing that dream, putting on work, and this is what I'm doing. People have a dream, people have a goal, but they're not willing to put on the work. Sometimes they ask me, 'Why you smiling? Why you happy? Why you call yourself the strawweight queen?' Because I'm still running the division. I used to be champion for three years, I was such a dominant champion and I believe in myself. I'm not only dreaming, I'm not only having a goal -- I'm putting on great work, being patient ... and that's the point. That's why I'm different."
