Joanne Wood Announces Retirement Following Victory at UFC 299

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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.

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