Joanna Jędrzejczyk

Joanna Jędrzejczyk (, born August 18, 1987) is a Polish former professional mixed martial artist, Muay Thai fighter and kickboxer. Jędrzejczyk competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she holds several records and is a former UFC Women's Strawweight Champion, including most successful strawweight title defenses (5), most consecutive wins at strawweight (8), and is the first Polish champion and first female European champion. She has been called the greatest female strawweight mixed martial artist of all time, including by Daniel Cormier, who credited her with putting the weight class "on the map".

After discovering Muay Thai as a teenager, Jędrzejczyk went on to earn six medals (five gold) at the IFMA World Muaythai Championships and held several different championship titles with promotions such as World Kickboxing Network and World Muaythai Council. Switching to mixed martial arts (MMA) in May 2012, Jędrzejczyk went undefeated in her first nine fights and won the UFC Women's Strawweight Championship in March 2015 after defeating Carla Esparza at UFC 185. Over the next two years, she continued her undefeated streak with five successful title defenses against opponents such as Jessica Penne, Cláudia Gadelha, and Jéssica Andrade. Jędrzejczyk suffered the first loss of her MMA career when she lost the championship to Rose Namajunas in November 2017. After losing a rematch with Namajunas, Jędrzejczyk defeated Tecia Torres before briefly returning to flyweight in an unsuccessful attempt to capture the vacant UFC Women's Flyweight Championship against Valentina Shevchenko in December 2018. Following a strawweight win over Michelle Waterson-Gomez, Jędrzejczyk faced new strawweight champion Zhang Weili at UFC 248 in March 2020. Jędrzejczyk lost by split decision in what many pundits called the greatest fight in women's MMA history. Following a two-year layoff, Jędrzejczyk retired from mixed martial arts in June 2022 after losing a rematch against Zhang at UFC 275.

Muay Thai and kickboxing Jędrzejczyk discovered Muay Thai when she was 16, while taking up fitness, which eventually led her to compete in national and European tournaments. Her professional record is 27–3.

Mixed martial arts

Early career Jędrzejczyk made her professional debut in mixed martial arts (MMA) on May 19, 2012, at SFT - MMA Fight Night Diva SPA against Sylwia Juskiewicz, winning via unanimous decision. On December 8, 2012, at MFC 5 she defeated Lily Kazak by submission via rear naked choke. On June 20, 2013, at Battle of Moscow 12 she defeated the then #1 Russian WMMA flyweight fighter Julia Berezikova via unanimous decision.

By July 2013, Jędrzejczyk was the #7 women's flyweight fighter in the world by Fight Matrix.

On June 7, 2014, at Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 69 she defeated Rosi Sexton via knockout in the second round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship Jędrzejczyk officially signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in July 2014. She made her promotional debut, now fighting as a strawweight, on July 26, 2014, at UFC on Fox: Lawler vs. Brown against Juliana Lima. She won the fight via unanimous decision.

Jędrzejczyk next faced undefeated strawweight top contender Cláudia Gadelha on December 13, 2014, at UFC on Fox 13. She won the fight via split decision. The judges' decision was met with much controversy as the majority of the MMA media scored the bout in favor of Gadelha.

Strawweight Champion Jędrzejczyk faced Carla Esparza for the UFC Strawweight Championship on March 14, 2015, at UFC 185. Jędrzejczyk won the one-sided bout via TKO in the second round, becoming the first UFC title-holder from Poland and first female European UFC champion. Subsequently, Jędrzejczyk won a Performance of the Night bonus.

Jędrzejczyk's first title defense was against Jessica Penne on June 20, 2015, at UFC Fight Night: Jędrzejczyk vs. Penne in Berlin, Germany. She successfully defended the title against Penne, defeating her in the third round via TKO following a flurry of punches and a knee against the cage. Both participants were awarded Fight of the Night honors. Jędrzejczyk later underwent surgery to repair a fractured thumb incurred during the fight.

In her second title defense, Jędrzejczyk faced Valérie Létourneau on November 15, 2015, in the co-main event at UFC 193. She won the fight by unanimous decision to retain her title. The 220 significant strikes landed by Jędrzejczyk were the most ever in a championship fight. 70 leg kicks were landed by Jędrzejczyk, the most in UFC history at the time. The previous record was 68, set by Carlos Condit against Nick Diaz at UFC 143. in the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. She won the fight via unanimous decision. Both participants were awarded Fight of the Night for their performance.

Jędrzejczyk successfully defended her title for the 4th consecutive time by defeating fellow Pole Karolina Kowalkiewicz by unanimous decision on November 12, 2016, at UFC 205 in Madison Square Garden, the first event the promotion had held in the historic arena.

Jędrzejczyk faced Jéssica Andrade on May 13, 2017, at UFC 211. She won the fight via unanimous decision, and successfully defended her title for the fifth consecutive time. Jędrzejczyk landed the most significant strikes in UFC championship history (225), had the highest significant strike differential in UFC championship history (142), and broke her previous record for most leg kicks thrown in a single fight (75).

For her sixth title defense, Jędrzejczyk faced Rose Namajunas at UFC 217 at Madison Square Garden in New York on November 4, 2017. In a huge upset, she lost the bout via KO (punches) in the first round, marking her first professional loss in mixed martial arts competition.

Post-championship A title fight rematch between Namajunas and Jędrzejczyk took place on April 7, 2018, at UFC 223. She lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Jędrzejczyk faced Tecia Torres on July 28, 2018, at UFC on Fox 30. She won the fight via unanimous decision.

Return to Flyweight On September 20, 2018, it was announced that Jędrzejczyk was expected to return to flyweight to face Valentina Shevchenko on December 8, 2018, at UFC 231 for the vacant UFC Women's Flyweight Championship. Due to UFC 230 being in need of a main event, Shevchenko was booked against Sijara Eubanks. After the UFC announced Cormier vs. Lewis on October 9, 2018, UFC confirmed the bout between Shevchenko and Eubanks was canceled and that Jędrzejczyk would again fight for the title against Shevchenko in the co-main event at UFC 231. Jędrzejczyk lost the fight via a unanimous decision.

Return to Strawweight Jędrzejczyk faced Michelle Waterson-Gomez on October 12, 2019, at UFC on ESPN+ 19. Per news reports, Jędrzejczyk had informed the UFC that she might not be able to make the Strawweight limit; however, she weighed in at 115.5 pounds. She won the fight via unanimous decision.

Jędrzejczyk faced Zhang Weili for UFC Women's Strawweight Championship on March 7, 2020, at UFC 248. She lost the fight via split decision. This fight earned her the Fight of the Night award, and was considered by many pundits as the greatest fight in women's MMA history.

A rematch between Jędrzejczyk and Zhang took place on June 11, 2022 at UFC 275. Jędrzejczyk lost the fight after getting knocked out with a spinning backfist in the second round. In her post-fight interview, Jędrzejczyk announced her retirement from mixed martial arts, saying, "It's been 20 years. I'm turning 35 this year. I want to be a mom. I want to be a businesswoman. I've been training two decades, more than half of my life. I appreciate you all. I love you guys."

Hall of Fame It was announced on March 10, 2024 that Jędrzejczyk would be inducted into UFC Hall of Fame in July 2024.

During UFC 326's broadcast in March 2026, Jędrzejczyk's 2020 fight with Weili was announced as the next "fight wing" UFC Hall of Fame inductee during International Fight Week festivities in Las Vegas on July 9, 2026.

Fighting style and coaches A decorated kickboxer, Jędrzejczyk is known for precise and calculated striking. She employs a sprawl-and-brawl strategy in MMA fighting. While standing with opponents, she constantly varies between high punches and body shots, also utilizing knees, elbows, and high front kicks. She also uses a flurry of strikes just to confuse the opponent before landing a solid strike, much akin to Chuck Liddell. SportsJoe.ie MMA journalist Darragh Murphy summed up her fighting style: "Her technique has the right combination of sublimity and relentlessness, expressing one's typically violent art through beauty, the perfect storm."

Jędrzejczyk is soft-spoken and has a calm and endearing personality with fans. However, she often employs the use of trash-talk against her opponents before fights, and her fights have been known to be violent and bloody. UFC president Dana White has praised her stating "She is so bad ass... pound-for-pound [she is the] best female fighter on Earth... Her killer instinct is ridiculous." MMA media have called Jędrzejczyk "must-see TV".

Jędrzejczyk has been praised for her elite level sprawl-and-brawl strategy. Fightland striking analyst Jack Slack has written that "she's being likened to Chuck Liddell, and that is a pretty solid way to describe her...while she has an undoubtedly better technical striking game than Liddell". BloodyElbow.com striking analyst Connor Ruebusch has written "Distance, angles, and damage. These are the key ingredients of successful takedown defense, and the elements that make Joanna Jędrzejczyk and José Aldo such masterful strikers." Foxsports.com striking analyst Jason Parillo has stated that "Joanna's MMA boxing is remarkable. It's second to none".

Since her training camp for UFC 205, Jędrzejczyk has trained at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida.

Her strength and conditioning coaches are Phil Daru and Jose Rojas. In 2021, Jędrzejczyk was promoted to blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu after training in the gi.

Personal life Jędrzejczyk is Catholic and prays with a rosary before entering the ring or Octagon.

She was the fiancée of former Polish football player Przemysław Buta. In a 2019 interview, she cited "some difficulties" in her personal life for "almost two years", confirming that she is no longer engaged to Buta.

Filmography Film Year Title Role NotesRef. 2019 Kobiety mafii 2 Prisoner 2021 Invincible Herself Documentary

Television Year Title Role NotesRef. 2015 Szpital Herself TV series Season 5 Episode 399

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts Ultimate Fighting Championship UFC Hall of Fame (Modern Wing, Class of 2024) UFC Hall of Fame (Fight Wing, Class of 2026) vs. Zhang Weili 1 at UFC 248 UFC Women's Strawweight Championship (One time) Five successful title defenses Most title bouts in UFC Women's Strawweight history (9) Tied (Zhang Weili) for most title fight wins in UFC Women's Strawweight history (6) Tied (Carla Esparza) for most decision wins in UFC Women's Strawweight division history (8) Tied (Joselyne Edwards) for most leg kicks in a fight in UFC history (+76 vs Michelle Waterson-Gomez) UFC.com Awards 2014: Ranked #9 Newcomer of the Year 2015: Half-Year Awards: Best Fighter of the 1HY & Ranked #3 Fighter of the Year 2016: Ranked #5 Fighter of the Year & Ranked #6 Fight of the Year 2020: Fight of the Year Bloody Elbow 2010s Women's Strawweight Fighter of the Decade Women's MMA Press Awards 2014 Strawweight of the Year Yahoo! Sports 2015 Best Fighter of the Half-Year 2020 Fight of the Year Fight Matrix 2015 Female Fighter of the Year MMA Junkie 2015 Female Fighter of the Year 2016 July Fight of the Month vs. Cláudia Gadelha 2020 March Fight of the Month vs. Zhang Weili 2020 Fight of the Year vs. Zhang Weili Fight Booth 2015 Lady Violence Award Sherdog 2015 All-Violence First Team 2020 Fight of the Year vs. Zhang Weili World MMA Awards 2019 – July 2020 Fight of the Year vs. Zhang Weili at UFC 248 Wrestling Observer Newsletter 2020 MMA Match of the Year vs. Zhang Weili MMA Fighting 2020 Fight of the Year vs. Zhang Weili The Athletic 2010s Women's Strawweight Fighter of the Decade 2020 Fight of the Year vs. Zhang Weili ESPN 2020 Fight of the Year Bleacher Report 2015 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year 2020 Fight of the Year vs. Zhang Weili Cageside Press 2020 Fight of the Year vs. Zhang Weili BT Sport 2020 Fight of the Year vs. Zhang Weili MMA Weekly 2020 Fight of the Year vs. Zhang Weili Combat Press 2016 Female Fighter of the Year 2020 Fight of the Year vs. Zhang Weili CBS Sports 2016 #7 Ranked UFC Fighter of the Year 2016 #7 Ranked UFC Fight of the Year 2020 UFC Fight of the Year MMA Sucka 2020 Fight of the Year

Kickboxing J-Girls Kickboxing Federation 2009 J-Girls World Featherweight Champion World Budokai Federation 2013 WBKF Pro Title World Kickboxing Federation 2010 WKF European Champion

Muay Thai IFMA World Championships

IFMA European Championships 3x IFMA European Champion (2008, 2012) World Muaythai Council WMC/EMF European Champion (one time) World Kickboxing Network 2010 WKN Muay Thai World -57 kg Champion (one time)

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Zhang Weili KO (spinning backfist) UFC 275

Kallang, Singapore Loss

Zhang Weili Decision (split) UFC 248

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Michelle Waterson-Gomez Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Joanna vs. Waterson

Tampa, Florida, United States Loss

Valentina Shevchenko Decision (unanimous) UFC 231

Toronto, Ontario, Canada Win

Tecia Torres Decision (unanimous) UFC on Fox: Alvarez vs. Poirier 2

Calgary, Alberta, Canada Loss

Rose Namajunas Decision (unanimous) UFC 223

Brooklyn, New York, United States Loss

Rose Namajunas TKO (punches) UFC 217

New York City, New York, United States Win

Jéssica Andrade Decision (unanimous) UFC 211

Dallas, Texas, United States Win

Karolina Kowalkiewicz Decision (unanimous) UFC 205

New York City, New York, United States Win

Cláudia Gadelha Decision (unanimous) The Ultimate Fighter: Team Joanna vs. Team Cláudia Finale

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Valérie Létourneau Decision (unanimous) UFC 193

Melbourne, Australia Win

Jessica Penne TKO (punches and knee) UFC Fight Night: Jędrzejczyk vs. Penne

Berlin, Germany Win

Carla Esparza KO (punches) UFC 185

Dallas, Texas, United States Win

Cláudia Gadelha Decision (split) UFC on Fox: dos Santos vs. Miocic

Phoenix, Arizona, United States Win

Juliana Lima Decision (unanimous) UFC on Fox: Lawler vs. Brown

San Jose, California, United States Win

Rosi Sexton KO (punch) Cage Warriors 69

London, England Win

Karla Benitez Decision (unanimous) Warriors Arena MMA 1

Warsaw, Poland Win

Julia Berezikova Decision (unanimous) Fight Nights: Battle of Moscow 12

Moscow, Russia Win

Kate Jackson TKO (doctor stoppage) PLMMA 17

Olsztyn, Poland Win

Lily Kazak Submission (rear-naked choke) Makowski FC 5

Nowa Sol, Poland Win

Sylwia Juśkiewicz Decision (unanimous) Szczerek Fight Team: MMA Fight Night 1

Kolobrzeg, Poland Win

Karolina Kowalkiewicz Submission (rear-naked choke) Amatorska Liga MMA 18

Sochaczew, Poland Win

Paulina Suska Decision (unanimous) Amatorska Liga MMA 18

Sochaczew, Poland

Pay-per-view bouts

Muay Thai & Kickboxing record (incomplete)

2013-11-07 Loss

Muay Thai Angels Bangkok, Thailand Decision 3 3:00

2013-10-02 Win

Muay Thai Angels Bangkok, Thailand Decision 3 3:00

2013-09-07 Win

Germany Decision 3 3:00

2012-11-23 Win

Hoost Cup Spirit 2 Nagoya, Japan Ext.R Decision (Unanimous) 4 3:00

2011-11-26 Loss

Big-8 WKN World Grand Prix Minsk, Belarus Decision 5 3:00

2011-05-11 Win

Iron Fist 4 Szczecin, Poland Decision 5 3:00

2010-09-12 Win

WKN Belarus Big 8 Tournament Minsk, Belarus Decision 5 3:00

2010-06-19 Loss

Lady Killers 4 Manchester, England Decision 5 3:00

2010-04-11 Win

Netherlands Points 3 3:00

2009-12-20 Win

J-GIRLS Final Stage 2009 Tokyo, Japan Decision (Unanimous) 3 3:00

2009-08-29 Win

Fighting with the Stars Paramaribo, Suriname Decision 3 3:00

2008-12-21 Win

Amsterdam, Netherlands Decision 3 3:00

I.F.M.A. World Championship Tournament 2012, Semi-finals -57 kg

I.F.M.A. World Championship Tournament 2012, Quarter Finals -57 kg

I.F.M.A. World Championship Tournament 2012, First Round -57 kg

I.F.M.A. World Championship Tournament 2011, Semi-finals -57 kg

I.F.M.A. World Championship Tournament 2011, Quarter Finals -57 kg

I.F.M.A. World Championship Tournament 2007, Quarter Finals -57 kg

I.F.M.A. World Championship Tournament 2006, Quarter Finals -57 kg