Joanna Jedrzejczyk looks out into the crowd before stepping foot inside of the octagon at UFC 248.
Female scarface: Joanna Jedrzejczyk
Joanna Jedrzejczyk recently said she did not want to a female version of scarface. She made these remarks in light of the swelling she sustained at UFC 248. The co-main event between Joanna and Weili Zhang, was one of the best fights in WMMA history. Fans were evenly split on the question of who would walk away with the win.
Joanna told Joe Rogan that this would be one of the best fights in history at the weigh-in. She was spot on. The former straw-weight queen and the current prima donna from China, put on a show for the ages. We will be talking about this fight for years to come.
It came at a cost. Joanna took repeated blows to the forehead throughout the bout causing her head to swell to the size of a balloon. Thus the scarface quip.
Scarface
It is an interesting remark. Jorge Masvidal, teammate of Joanna at American Top-Team has drawn comparisons to the same character. In the lead up to the historic BMF title, Masvidal wore attire that was reminiscent of Tony Montana. This has led to a series of internet memes and cartoons. Additionally, Joanna has also called herself the female BMF.
Therefore, it is clear that both Joanna and Jorge are fans of the movie. For those who do not know, Scarface is a classic from the 1980s which tells the story of Tony Montana who rose up the ranks to become an overlord gangster. While his paranoia led to his ultimate downfall, Montana showed great guile during his rise. He also dropped a number of memorable sound-bites.
In the fight business, an aura of danger is an asset. It makes a fighter far more sellable.
Joanna’s greatness
While Joanna competes in the lowest weight-class in the UFC, she has been dominant. Her fighting style is striking heavy. The landscape in MMA changes rapidly. Before losing the title to Rose Namajunas in November of 2017, Joanna was the most feared female fighter in the 115 pound division. She was three years into her UFC career and was undefeated. Most fans thought she would continue undefeated.
Joanna’s only losses have come to Rose, Valentina Schevchenko and now most recently Weili. In the meanwhile, she’s beaten back a number of strong contenders such as Michelle Waterson, Claudia Gadelha, Jessica Penne, Karolina Kowalkiewicz and Carla Esparza.
But unlike Tony Montana, Joanna seems to be far more grounded. “Sometimes second place is better than winning” she says. Weili and Joanna who may rematch soon in the future respect each other.
Just like most people, Joanna is grounded by the Coronavirus. She’s spending the time cooking and playing with her dog, Milo. Joanna is a fan of the musician James Arthur. The admiration here too is mutual.
But don’t be too fooled. Joanna is a killer inside the cage. And it looks like she’s going to be around for a while to show that.
