Joanna Jedrzejczyk
THE FIGHTER
Joanna Jedrzejczyk arrived in the UFC in 2014 as a Muay Thai world champion and proceeded to run through the entire strawweight division with a technical precision and a relentless work rate that the division had never seen. She won the title from Carla Esparza in 2015 and defended it five consecutive times, which remains one of the most dominant single-division championship runs in women's MMA history. She did not just win these fights — she dominated them systematically and convincingly.
Her Muay Thai was the foundation: footwork, timing, the high kick that she threw off feints, body work, elbows in the clinch. But beyond the technical package, Joanna fought with a ferocity that felt personal. She talked constantly, in the cage, at press conferences, during weigh-ins, and she backed every word up. The act was real because the skills were real.
She fought Zhang Weili twice in back-to-back all-time classic wars, losing both but competing at a level that earned her permanent respect. She announced her retirement in 2023 after surgery on a hand that had been damaged in the first Weili fight. Her place in the history of the sport is secure — she was, for two years, the best women's fighter in the world not named Amanda Nunes.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
SIGNATURE MOVES
BIGGEST WINS
Joanna is the mom who brings homemade food to every event, tells you exactly what is wrong with the school policy in the most detailed possible terms, and is always right. Exhausting. Brilliant. Absolutely correct.