Appreciate Joanna Jedrzejczyk now – because the reigning UFC strawweight champion might not be active in the sport for much longer.

Jedrzejczyk (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) isn’t planning on retiring tomorrow, nor is she going to make an immediate exit from the sport following Saturday’s UFC 205 title defense against Karolina Kowalkiewicz (10-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC), which takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York City and airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

What she is planning, though, is to go down as one of the greatest fighters in UFC history, and defending her 115-pound title several more times to complete her ambitious plan of retiring from MMA with the belt and an undefeated professional record.

If Jedrzejczyk can do that and remain healthy in the process, she said she’d be content with her MMA accomplishments, and then she could move on to the next stage of life, which she hopes includes marriage and children.

“I had the thought in my head a year ago, two years ago I was like, ‘I want to fight two more years,’ and then this year I was like, ‘Maybe I’ll fight to next year or next few years and be done with that,'” Jedrzejczyk told MMAjunkie. “I like to be healthy person. I like to be focused on my things. Now I’m trying to be the best athlete ever. I left my family, my fiance, my friends. I left my everything in Poland, but I’m trying to be the best in the world, and I’m proving that every single day for myself. There are no excuses.

“When (I retire) I’m going to be the perfect wife or perfect mother. I want to be the same, (giving) 100 percent,” she continued. ” I know I’m not retiring in two months or beginning of the next year because then I will want to come back and have a fight with someone who is important. My goal is to make my dreams come true, my goals come true, and be undefeated. Fight for the next few fights and then see what’s going to happen. That’s my goal.”

Jedrzejczyk, No. 1 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA women’s strawweight rankings, wouldn’t put an exact timeline or number of fights she wants to complete before retiring. However, before she parts ways with the sport, she said she wants to do enough to establish a legacy as one of the best ever. With a 12-fight winning streak to her credit, including six straight under the UFC banner and three title defenses, Jedrzejczyk is already in the running for being on of the most successful female fighters in MMA history.

A victory over No. 4-ranked Kowalkiewicz at UFC 205 would mark a fourth consecutive title defense, bringing Jedrzejczyk closer to former bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey’s title-defense record for a female champion at six.

Jedrzejczyk said she’d be proud to top Rousey’s record. Then, if she’s still eager enough, she could look ahead to Anderson Silva’s all-time company record of 10 consecutive defenses. Jedrzejczyk said her focus is not so much on records, but instead producing quality performances every time she steps in the octagon, something she said will happen so long as she stays healthy.

The biggest problem that has plagued Jedrzejczyk to this point in her career, she said, is the grueling weight cut down to 115 pounds. Jedrzejczyk competed at 125 pounds prior to joining the UFC, but the fact the promotion only offers strawweight and bantamweight divisions forced her down a weight class.

Jedrzejczyk said she has likely caused irreparable physical harm by cutting so much weight earlier in her UFC career. She admitted to fearing the longterm consequences of putting her body through so much agony, but prior to her most recent fight, a unanimous-decision win over Claudia Gadelha at The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale in July, Jedrzejczyk enlisted a new nutrition team at Perfecting Athletes. She said the difference was significant.

“My first five fights in the UFC, the weight cut – and I don’t complain about the weight cut because it’s my job – I’m enjoying this, but I broke my hand once; the second time I broke it, and I think it was because of the weight cut,” Jedrzejczyk said. “What if I break my shin like Anderson Silva did? I don’t want this. I want to be healthy. But now since I’ve been working with Perfecting Athletes, it’s been amazing. I feel great, the weight cuts are easy, and I’m healthy.

“It’s amazing how good I felt before the last fight with Claudia Gadelha. We’re all figuring out how to cut the weight in the right way. We cannot think about just a single fight. We have to think about the future. I want to be a wife, and I want to be a mother for my kids. I want to be an athlete for the next few years. I want to be a healthy person in the future. We cannot think just about now. We must stay healthy. There is a way to cut weight very easy and feel great. Before I broke my hand twice ,and it was probably because of the wrong weight cut. Last time I felt amazing.”

For whatever time she has left in the sport, Jedrzejczyk said she’s determined to make the most of it. That’s why ahead of UFC 205, she opted to leave her lifelong training camp in her native Poland to relocate to Florida to train with American Top Team. Jedrzejczyk said the sacrifice is all worth it, though, because when the time to walk away does finally arrive, she wants to know she gave herself the best chance at victory in each fight and left no stone unturned.

“It’s going to be difficult to retire undefeated because MMA is a difficult sport,” Jedrzejczyk said. “But every fight someone must win, and someone must lose the fight. I’m trying to be focused, calm, humble. I’m trying to be hard on myself, challenge myself and learn new stuff every day. I want to make my dreams into a life.”

For more on UFC 205, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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