The Remarkable Career of Joanna Jedrzejczyk
Joanna Jedrzejczyk (16–5 MMA) has established herself as one of the greatest female fighters to ever compete within the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Jedrzejczyk is a former UFC strawweight champion and is also the first fighter from Poland to secure a UFC championship. Additionally, she has recorded the highest number of successful title defenses within the UFC’s strawweight division. She is also tied with the current strawweight champion, Carla Esparza (19–6 MMA), for the most victories in the division.
Her outstanding Muay Thai background has been showcased within many of her fights and has led to some thrilling and entertaining striking exchanges during many of her career-defining performances. She has earned a Fight of the Night performance bonus three times during her UFC career.
The Epic Rivalry Between Jedrzejczyk and Zhang Weili
Jedrzejczyk has never been afraid of engaging in some trash talk with her opponents. Her career has included some intense press conferences and media scrums. One memorable opponent that fans may associate with Jedrzejczyk is Zhang Weili (22–3 MMA).
Jedrzejczyk’s first fight against Zhang was for the strawweight championship at UFC 248. Moreover, it was Zhang’s first title defense. Their first fight is considered to be one of the greatest fights in UFC history by many fans, fighters, and publications.
Although Jedrzejczyk lost the fight by a split-decision, her toughness and endurance was on full display within the fight as she battled back-and-forth with Zhang for all five rounds. Even after suffering a hematoma in the middle of the fight, Jedrzejczyk continued to engage in massive striking exchanges with Zhang. Furthermore, Jedrzejczyk managed to land more significant and total strikes than Zhang in their fight.
In April, the UFC announced that Jedrzejczyk was scheduled to fight Zhang at UFC 275. This highly anticipated rematch was receiving a great amount of media coverage and attention due to their incredibly intense and violent first fight.
Their second fight ended in the second round after Zhang knocked Jedrzejczyk out with a spinning back-fist. After the fight, Jedrzejczyk removed her gloves and announced her retirement.
“I’m turning 35 this year,” Jedrzejczyk said during her post-fight interview at UFC 275. “I want to be a mom. I want to be a businesswoman. I’ve been training more than half of my life.”
A UFC Legend
In short, Jedrzejczyk deserves a spot in the UFC Hall of Fame. Jedrzejczyk has had an incredible career that is filled with so many remarkable accomplishments. Additionally, she has helped carry the UFC women’s strawweight division for years by gathering a significant amount of attention towards her fights due to her trash-talking, intense stare-downs at weigh-ins, and impressive victories.
