Joanna
Jedrzejczyk, perhaps the most accomplished strawweight in
Ultimate Fighting Championship history, is calling it a career at
34 years old.
Advertisement
The former champion announced her decision following a loss to
Weili
Zhang in a rematch at UFC 275 in Singapore on Saturday.
Jedrzejczyk succumbed to a spinning back fist from her Chinese
opponent at the 2:28 mark of round 2. It was the Polish standout’s
first Octagon appearance in more than two years, when she fell to
Zhang via split decision in a “Fight of the Year”-winning
performance at UFC 248 in March 2020.
“I’m retired, guys. I love you so much. Thank you for this
opportunity. UFC, Dana, so sorry I let you down,” she said.
“It’s been 20 years. I’m turning 35 this year. I want to be a mom.
I want to be a business woman. I’ve been training two decades, more
than half of my life. I appreciate you all. I love you guys.”
Jedrzejczyk exits the sport with a 16-5 career mark. She made her
UFC debut in 2014 and proceeded to win her first eight promotional
appearances. During that stretch, she claimed 115-pound gold with a
second-round knockout of Carla
Esparza at UFC 185 and defended the belt against the likes of
Jessica
Penne, Valerie
Letourneau, Claudia
Gadelha, Karolina
Kowalkiewicz and Jessica
Andrade. She relinquished the throne to Rose
Namajunas in an upset loss at UFC 217.
The American Top Team representative would never again regain the
title, but she was competitive in championship losses to Namajunas
and Zhang while also coming up short against Valentina
Shevchenko in a bid for the UFC’s inaugural flyweight crown in
2018.
Jedrzjeczyk elaborated on her decision at Saturday’s post-fight
press conference.
“It was just the moment,” Jedrzejczyk said. “Of course, I had it in
the back of my head like maybe there was one day, maybe a year ago,
if something happened I might retire because I’ve been in this
business for the last 19 years. Lots of investment from myself.
It’s time to fully enjoy my life.
“Honestly, I had no time to sit on it and think about my legacy and
how big it is, and I’m a hard worker. I always dedicate myself. I
give as much as I can and I get as much as I can the same way but
now it’s time to fully really enjoy it. Spend some time with my
family. I started traveling when I was 17, I used to live in
Thailand, in Holland and in the [United] States, it’s been more
than six years from the time I moved to the States, I’ve been on
the road. I’ve been doing this most of my life so it’s time to
really, fully enjoy.”