Three months after losing her rematch to Rose Namajunas, Joanna Jedrzejczyk is back to face Tecia Torres at UFC on FOX 30, but is the former champion finally ready to put the past behind her?

Joanna Jedrzejczyk doesn’t understand the “what have you done for me lately?” mindset of some mixed martial arts fans.

Less than a year removed from sitting atop the strawweight division and being considered one of the most talented, dangerous and successful fighters on the UFC roster, Jedrzejczyk this weekend’s matchup with Tecia Torres on a two-fight losing streak and feeling like she’s being unfairly judged and dismissed because of her twin setbacks to current champion Rose Namajunas.

“I’m very confident and very calm, but some people don’t know – they define my fighting career on my last two fights, but I’ve been in this business for 15 years,” said the Polish superstar just days before her first non-title fight in almost four years. “I’ve got lots of experience and that’s why I’m so calm and even more calm with every fight.

“I’m a smart fighter, I’m a great athlete and I know this. I know how hard I work every day and how disciplined I am and this is the most important.”

Everything Jedrzejczyk says about short memories and knowing what it takes to reach this point is on point and sounds like the words of a confident fighter who is ready to put the past behind and start crafting her future.

But she might not be there yet.

Just a few days prior to stepping into the Octagon with Torres, a Top 10 fixture who has been saying all the right things heading into their showdown this weekend on FOX, it’s clear that the former champion still hasn’t put her two losses to Namajunas behind her.

“I am still “Joanna Champion,” not only for myself, but for so many people and that’s the point,” she answered, when asked if getting back to just being “Joanna the Fighter” was paramount to returning to the top of the division. “Physically having a belt or not, I’m still the champion.

“The atmosphere here in Calgary is special – I feel wonderful, the people are amazing and they support me, they’re cheering for me and women are saying they are more confident because of me, because they saw me losing, but reaching for the sky again. I make people strong and this is what I like about it and it makes me happy.

“And I know I won my last fight with Rose Namajunas,” she added, unprovoked. “I don’t care what people are saying. The fight went to the decision, but I landed 30% more punches. Tell me why I lost this fight? I don’t believe this.”

There are flecks of the “still undefeated” position Ronda Rousey put forth on Ellen in her first official public appearance following her loss to Holly Holm at UFC 193 to Jedrzejczyk’s position.

Just as the underlying message of Rousey’s statement about not letting yourself feel defeated held true then, Jedrzejczyk’s does now as well; you can be a champion in life and a champion to others without carrying a shiny gold belt with you everywhere you go.

But it also feels like the a fighter putting a spin on back-to-back losses because simply acknowledging that Namajunas was the better fighter on two separate occasions is not something Jedrzejczyk is capable of doing at this moment, the same way Rousey couldn’t seem to come to grips with the idea that she was beatable just like everyone else.

“Maybe I’m not the main event, but I’m going to take over the show and my fight is going to be the Fight of the Night.”

As much as there are hints of similarities, the fact that Jedrzejczyk is poised to return to action three months after her second loss to Namajunas is a clear indication that the former strawweight queen is cut from a different cloth than the former bantamweight champion and current WWE superstar.

The fact that she opted to make additional changes to her training camp and stay at strawweight rather than relocate to the flyweight division speaks volumes about her drive and resolve, and shows that she has learned and grown from those losses, even if she still can’t quite put them behind her just yet.

“The point here, today, this week is that I want to show to people that I’m the real deal,” she offered. “Maybe I’m not the main event, but I’m going to take over the show and my fight is going to be the Fight of the Night.

“We did some adjustments since my last camp and I feel stronger, more powerful, even faster than I was,” she added. “My weight is super-low, so I’m super-happy. I’m enjoying Fight Week and I can’t wait to put on a great show on Saturday.”

How she intends to do that could be the key to all of this.

“Just be myself – be calm; be Joanna,” she answered, when asked how she plans on stealing the show. “I will do that. I have nothing to lose, she has nothing to lose, but I will take over that night.”

Maybe reaching a point where she feels like she has nothing left to lose and the need to prove to people that she is, as she put it, “The Real Deal,” is what Jedrzejczyk has needed in order to be able to finally turn the page on the Rose Namajunas chapter of her career and start writing the next one.

“Watch it. Please. Just watch it,” she asked.

How could you not?