We brought women’s MMA to a different level, says retired UFC star Joanna Jedrzejczyk

SINGAPORE – Joanna Jedrzejczyk took no prisoners in the cage since her debut in 2014 and has since been regarded as one of the best athletes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) stable but, now, she has also emerged as one of the standard-bearers for female champions for the mixed martial arts (MMA) outfit.

In town as a UFC ambassador to promote its return to Singapore with the Aug 26 Fight Night event, Jedrzejczyk, 35, said on The Straits Times’ Sports Talk podcast series that she is elated to see “high-level competition” in the sport among women and expects it to get even better.

She said: “When I faced Valerie Letourneau and Dana (White) announced UFC 193 in Melbourne (in 2015), the show was at the Etihad Stadium and more than 55,000 people came to watch two female bouts.

“And people (said) that ‘you are not gonna fill the stadium with two women’s fights’. But we did it together and we broke some pay-per-view records at that time.

“We (women’s MMA) have just grown from that time and more women are headlining the shows. And it’s just amazing, but I see the sport growing even more. When you hear about girls fighting, you don’t see two girls pulling each other’s hair, but you see high-level competition.”

While the likes of women’s strawweight champion Zhang Weili and flyweight champion Alexa Grasso are top of the fight ladder today, there was a time – specifically in 2011 – when UFC president White was adamant that women would never fight in the UFC.

But a year later, it all changed with the arrival of former Olympic judoka Ronda Rousey, who played a pivotal role in breaking down barriers. Her success and other talented fighters convinced the UFC to establish a women’s division in 2013, which then led to more opportunities.

Jedrzejczyk pounced on that chance with both hands and legs. After introducing herself with a stirring second-round knockout of Carla Esparza that earned her the UFC women’s strawweight title, the Pole – nicknamed “Joanna Champion” – held the championship from 2015 to 2017, a span of five successful title defences.

She had also given fans plenty of fights to remember. Her loss to Zhang via split decision in March 2020 was dubbed by many as the greatest women’s MMA contest of all time. The five-round brawl saw Jedrzejczyk suffer a huge haematoma on her forehead with images of her post-bout going viral.

Ultimately, Jedrzejczyk ended her career in June 2022 with a 16-5 record following a knockout loss to Zhang at UFC 275 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. After the fight, Jedrzejczyk took off her gloves and told UFC analyst Daniel Cormier in her post-fight interview that she would be retiring.

Reflecting on that decision, she said she has no regrets.

“I lost, but I gained lots of respect from people. We brought the women’s MMA to a different level because the fight was just a war. The way I performed, it motivated me to reach higher things and break records, but it was time to stop because I knew that I couldn’t take more damage,” she added.

“The sport is very beautiful but brutal at the same time. And we have to sacrifice... dedicate ourselves physically and mentally during the process while we’re preparing for the fight. I knew that I have so many dreams, goals, passions and hobbies I want to do in my life. So I had to say that it was enough.”