Gadelha ‘happy’ Joanna Jedrzejczyk is no longer champion: ‘She’s not a good person’

Former UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk has not exactly handled her losses with grace. Even after being defeated by current champion Rose Namajunas at UFC 223 for the second consecutive time, the Polish fighter called on the rest of her fellow 115-pounders to “bow down” and that she is “the queen.”

Jedrzejczyk’s attitude has turned off quite a bit of fans and fighters, including the number three-ranked contender in Claudia Gadelha. For one, she is happy that Joanna is no longer the division’s champion.

“I am (happy she’s no longer champion). She’s not a good person,” Gadelha told MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani in a UFC 225 pre-fight interview. “I respect Joanna as an athlete, as a fighter, but I don’t respect her as a person. I don’t think she’s a good person, and she didn’t do a good job being a champion, which Rose does. Rose is a great champion and I love seeing her act as the champion.”

“I feel good about Joanna not being the champion.”

Gadelha had a chance to have a more personal relationship with Jedrzejczyk during their stint as opposing coaches during the 23^rd season of The Ultimate Fighter. For the Brazilian, those eight weeks spent together revealed a lot.

“The way she acts, she’s very cocky, she doesn’t respect people. During the Ultimate Fighter, I didn’t know if she was acting, but she did disrespect my coaches, and me, every day. I hung out with her for eight weeks and I know a lot about her.”

“I don’t think she changes. She’s been saying the same things over and over, I don’t think she changes. But maybe someday she will.”

Gadelha is currently scheduled to face Carla Esparza this Saturday at UFC 225 in Chicago.