Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Claudia Gadelha likely as 'TUF 23' coaches

Joanna Jedrzejczyk

UFC women’s strawweight champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk said she is “99 percent” likely to coach the 23rd edition of “The Ultimate Fighter” opposite rival Claudia Gadelha.

Speaking on Monday to Polish MMA outlet MMARocks.pl, Jedrzejczyk stopped short of confirming the news. But “TUF 20” vet Tecia Torres later backed the report, recently telling fans she heard the strawweight rivals will coach against each other on the reality show.

In an email to MMAjunkie, a UFC official declined comment on the show’s casting. If confirmed, the coaches would mark the first time women’s strawweights have coached on the long-running reality series, which just wrapped up its 22nd season featuring now-featherweight champion Conor McGregor and popular ex-champ Urijah Faber.

In previous interviews, Jedrzejczyk (11-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) welcomed a coaching spot on “TUF,” though a rematch with Gadelha wasn’t at the top of her list. She said Gadelha (13-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) needs one more win to cement her status as the No. 1 contender.

But Jedrzejczyk’s timeline doesn’t match with UFC President Dana White, who said Gadelha will be the next challenger to Jedrzejczyk’s title.

Jedrzejczyk defeated Gadelha via split decision one year ago at UFC on FOX 13 to become the No. 1 strawweight contender. Since then, the Polish champ has run roughshod over the division, stopping Carla Esparza to win the title and defending it twice in bouts opposite Jessica Penne and Valerie Letourneau.

Torres, who recently picked up her third UFC win, is also in the hunt for a title at 115 pounds. But she also noted the options for women in the UFC will not expand as expected.

Torres said plans to promote a women’s flyweight division are now on hold. The news comes on the heels of Holly Holm’s stunning upset of women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey, which opened up new options for bantamweights such as Miesha Tate, who was promised a title shot only to see the UFC choose Holm.

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.