Joanna Jedrzejczyk: Female fighters have more character, skill and the better fights
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}BERLIN, GERMANY - JUNE 19: UFC women's strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk of Poland weighs in during the UFC Berlin weigh-in at the O2 World on June 19, 2015 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
While taping season 23 of The Ultimate Fighter, UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk coached both men and women, opposite of her challenger Claudia Gadelha. The pioneering champion knows that there are differences between men and women, but believes it usually leads to female fighters being better.
"Guys are born with testosterone. Female fighters must learn how to fight," she explained, to FOXSports, recently.
"So, most of the time, we are more technical, and I think we have more character and our fights are better."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The last declaration came with a smile, but the cocky champion doubtless meant what she said. Joanna Champion has a great deal of character and skill herself, of course, and as the season began taping, she looked forward to imparting her wisdom to her team.
"I've fought in Thailand, in Japan, in Europe, in the U.S so I've got lots of experience from different coaches. I think we're going to make it work," she said, humbly.
"I'm here for the fighters. I want to be a coach, I want to be a friend and I want to give all I have to them."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The champ is competitive, to say the least, but she said that winning isn't everything for prospects like those on TUF 23. "I want my team to win but the most important thing is learning, you know?" she reasoned.
"I want my fighters to learn some, and let them become better fighters in the future."
TUF 23 premiers on FS1, April 20.