Joanna Jedrzejczyk 'not interested' in UFC 204, wants Madison Square Garden

Joanna Jedrzejczyk 'not interested' in UFC 204, wants Madison Square Garden

Joanna Jedrzejczyk wants her next title defense to take place on one of the world's most historic stages. See where here.

Aug 8, 2016 by Jim Edwards
Joanna Jedrzejczyk 'not interested' in UFC 204, wants Madison Square Garden
It's only been one month since Joanna Jedrzejczyk defended her UFC strawweight title against Claudia Gadelha at the Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale, but fans are already wondering when they can expect to see her fight next. 

The Polish champion is currently enjoying an extended break back in Poland after a hectic last 20 months, where she fought fight five times and coached on a series of The Ultimate Fighter

Ever since Jedrzejczyk's win over Gadelha, there has been plenty speculation about who and where the UFC's strawweight champion will fight next. While the identity of her next opponent was all but determined when Karolina Kowalkiewicz defeated Rose Namajunas at UFC 201, when and where she fights next is something the champion will be able to dictate to some degree. 

A source close to the Jedrzejczyk camp has revealed to FloCombat that the Polish champion "is not interested" in fighting at UFC 204 in Manchester, England. At this point in time, the UFC has not approached her about fighting on the card.

Instead, Jedrzejczyk is solely focused on pursuing a fight at UFC 205 in New York City and fulfilling a lifetime ambition of fighting at Madison Square Garden.  

While the champion may be focused on New York, the UFC might have slightly different plans. Speaking after UFC 201 last month, Dana White stated that he would "love" to see Jedrzejczyk face Kowalkiewicz and that the fight could even be put together in Poland.

"It's the one that makes sense," UFC President Dana White said. "But we've got to get back to the office and figure out what to do. I'd love to do that fight in Poland."

Should the UFC stage the fight in Poland, it would see them return to the country for the second time following their debut show there in Krakow in April of last year.

It has been widely speculated that another UFC Europe, Middle East, and Asia (EMEA) event will take place during the UFC 2016 calendar in addition to UFC 204, which will go down in Manchester, England in October.  

Before Michael Bisping became the UFC middleweight champion at UFC 199, The Odyssey in Belfast, Northern Ireland, had been linked to an event in either Q4 2016 or Q1 2017. The short-term plans are said to have changed following the Englishman's title win, though it is believed that the venue may still be in the running for an event before the year is over.