Joanna Jedrzejczyk says she broke her foot in second round of UFC Tampa main event

Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk put on a dominant performance against Michelle Waterson in the main event of UFC Tampa, earning a lopsided unanimous decision. She did so despite suffering a nasty foot injury early in the fight.

According to Jedrzejczyk, she broke her foot in the second round but managed to go the full 25 minutes with a tough Waterson anyways. Here’s what the former champ told reporters in her post-fight press conference about the injury.

“I think I broke (my foot) at the end of second round or the third round. In the fifth round I was like, ‘Ok, I shouldn’t kick with this foot.’ I felt pain. But then I was like f*ck it, what’s the worst that can happen? I’m going to break it in three pieces, they’re going to put it together,” Jedrzejczyk said.

“That’s a tough business. Honestly I don’t like myself from the Octagon being injured with the crutches, but it’s my job. Big hobby, big passion, crazy passion, crazy job, but this is how we make money, baby. I love it. I will go to the hospital tomorrow morning, now I want to rest.”

ESPN’s Ariel Helwani posted pictures of the broken foot.

This is how @joannamma’s right foot looks a day after her win last night. She is currently awaiting X-Ray results on both feet, her team tells me. The belief is she injured her right foot by the third round. pic.twitter.com/8wK65VIDqm

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) October 13, 2019

The win over Waterson puts Jedrzejczyk in the driver’s seat when it comes to getting the next title shot against new UFC women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang. Jedrzejczyk made sure to tell reporters it’s her goal to fight Zhang next, and she hopes that the fight can take place at a stadium in her native Poland.

For now, the former champ will rest up her broken foot. Hopefully it doesn’t keep her out of action too long so the UFC can start making plans to book the fight with Zhang, a matchup that already has fans salivating as it pits the women’s strawweight division’s two most talented strikers against one another.

What did you think of Joanna Jedrzejczyk’s performance at UFC Tampa?