Bellator star lashes out at fans for mocking Joanna Jedrzejczyk – Demands respect
MMA can,at times, be a cruel sport. Fighters prepare themselves for weeks and months, spending less time with friends and family, and going through gruelling training camps. All this preparation can lead to a loss being immortalised in highlight videos, and shared world wide. At UFC 248, however, strawweights Zhang Weili and Joanna Jedrzejczyk left it all in the cage in a battle for the ages – Already hailed by many as one of the best MMA fights ever. Jedrzejczyk did sustain a horrific hematoma on her forehead, which grew substantially as the fight went on. After the title bout, some fans made memes and jokes at the expense of Jedrzejczyk’s hematoma – something her training partner Valerie Loureda didn’t take kindly to.
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Loureda, who is a decorated Tae Kwon Do practitioner, has a 2-0 record in MMA and currently competes in Bellator. She reacted strongly to fans making memes and jokes about Jedrzejczyk’s hematoma, and took to Twitter to address the issue.
“Y’all need to stop making fun of Joanna,” Loureda wrote. “That’s fucked up. She made it worth your money and fought like a warrior. No grappling, no wrestling those girls stood there and showed beautiful exchanges. You need to have more respect for the woman in this sport and what we do.”
While there were certainly some jokes made in bad taste, as a whole the MMA community is completely enamoured by the instant classic fight between Zhang and Jedrzejczyk. UFC commentator Joe Rogan was clear in saying that he believes the fight will end up in the UFC hall of Fame, and there’s much credence to that sentiment.
