Karolina Kowalkiewicz will take on Jessica Andrade at UFC 228 on Sept. 8 and according to the Polish fighter it’s a fight to determine the #1 contender for Rose Namajunas’ strawweight title.

Both Kowalkiewicz and Andrade previously challenged Joanna Jederzejczyk for the title during her title reign, but Namajunas now an established champion having beaten Jederzejczyk twice the winner of the Kowalkiewicz vs Andrade showdown at UFC 228 will be in prime position for another crack at the belt.

Speaking to MMANews.pl this past Tuesday, Kowalkiewicz dismissed Jederzejczyk’s chances of fighting Namajunas for a third time after beating Tecia Torres earlier this month at UFC Calgary.

“Maybe the win over Tecia could give Joanna the title fight, but only after Rose would fight someone else first, so it means Joanna would have to wait for a really long time,” Kowalkiewicz said. “I think the champion has something to say, and it’s not like Joanna is the ‘Strawweight Queen’ and everything will be exactly as she said. “Rose already proved twice that she’s better, and she will want to fight someone else.”

In July, Kowalkiewicz attended UFC International Fight Week 2018 in Las Vegas and met UFC officials about her future. The Pole wouldn’t reveal the extent of the conversations, but said she was very confident that she will get the opportunity to fight Namajunas for a second time should she beat Andrade in Dallas, Texas in 11 days.

“I think this fight against Jessica Andrade will be a title eliminator,” Kowalkiewicz said. “Not only do I think this way, but also the rest of the world. I don’t want to offend Joanna, but sometimes she loses contact with reality and she leads with her legend. Logically, Rose would have to fight for the third time with a fighter that she defeated twice.”

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