Left it all out in the Octagon đź‘Ź
Joanne Wood retires from MMA on top, securing the split decision
win at
#UFC299 💪 pic.twitter.com/u0b0GcixAm— ESPN MMA (@espnmma)
March 9, 2024
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If this truly is goodbye, Joanne Wood
went out on a high note.
The Scottish muay thai stylist announced her retirement following a
split-decision triumph against Maryna
Moroz in the opening bout at UFC
299 on Saturday at the Kaseya Center in Miami. The 38-year-old
Wood leaves the sport with a 17-8 career career that included a
17-bout stint in the Las Vegas-based promotion.
“Jojo” left a lasting impression in the late stages of her swan
song, as she wobbled Moroz with a spinning backfist and aggresively
pursued the finish until the final horn. While that moment didn’t
arrive, Wood did avenge a first-round submission loss to Moroz that
occurred at UFC Fight Night 64 on April 11, 2015.
“It’s hard to get to the UFC, never mind stay in the UFC,” Wood
said in a backstage interview. “I’ve had a lot of ups and downs. My
career has not been perfect. So just to get here and get to the end
and finish it on a high … I never asked for this fight. I got this
fight, which is one fight that I’ve always wanted to get back. That
Jojo that faced her [Moroz] the first time is well and truly under
the ground, you know.”
Wood went 9-8 during the course of her UFC tenure, earning notable
victories against the likes of Jessica Eye,
Andrea
Lee, Ariane
Lipski, Valerie
Letourneau and Seo Hee Ham.
The Glasgow native also went 4-0 during a brief stint with
Invicta Fighting Championships prior to signing with the UFC.
Wood was scheduled to challenge Valentina
Shevchenko for the flyweight title at UFC 250, but the bout
fell through after Shevchenko pulled out of the event due to
injury. She would lose her top contender status when she suffered a
first-round submission loss to Jennifer
Maia in her next outing.
“It feels pretty good to know that I got
here.”Joanne Wood (@DRkneevil)
reflects on her @UFC career and
what it meant for her to get a win in her final trip to the Octagon
🔊🆙All
#UFC299 Fight Results ➡️: https://t.co/zmOumBMjch— UFC News (@UFCNews)
March 10, 2024