The end of an era of Joanna Violence
On 11th June, 2022, Joanna Jędrzejczyk fought Zhang Weili at UFC 275 in a rematch of their all-time classic from over 2 years ago (right before the start of COVID pandemic). She lost by KO in the 2nd round, and promptly took off her gloves and retired from MMA.
To encapsulate a career as decorated as Joanna, one must look at her holistic achievements throughout. For one, She has defended her 115 lbs championship a total of 5 times, a record that has not yet been broken. She went undefeated in her first 8 UFC fights (and 14 overall in her MMA career). She took striking in women’s MMA to a whole new level. At one point, she was the best striker pound-for-pound in MMA regardless of gender. In her prime, she was as fast as they could get, and she could put a punishment on like no one.
By themselves, these are excellent accomplishments, and any woman would do well to match them. In a larger scheme of things, these will always hold a slightly dimmer when compared to what she did for WMMA overall.
She helped build the 115 lbs. division for WMMA in UFC at a time when there were several doubts about its viability in UFC. She paved the way for several other young fighters in WMMA. Today, this division is the best WMMA division in any organization, and one of the most exciting divisions overall. Joanna’s impressive title defenses and stardom paved the way for other WMMA fighters to take up the sport in 115 lbs. division.
There have been several records made in the UFC with undefeated streaks and number of title defenses. Several of these records have also ended up being broken by a fighter from a newer generation. As impressive as her accomplishments within UFC are, her greatest contribution to the sport will be that of breaking the glass ceiling for several WMMA fighters, and building the most exciting division in MMA.
While she did go 2–5 over the last 5 years of her career up to her retirement, one has to include that all 5 of those losses were to 2 former champions — one of which was an all-time great WMMA fight (a fight that many thought she won, including yours truly), and the other loss was to another generational talent in Valentina Shevchenko in the 125 lbs. division. These losses with context give rise to the fact that even after her prime, she was still only losing to the best of the best.
Her last name was as confusing to the general public as her various strikes and angles were to her opponents. She always preferred to go by Joanna Champion and Joanna Violence. She remains the embodiment of a champion and that of pure, beautiful violence, even in her retirement. And that is what we will all remember by. Thanks for the memories, champ. Happy retirement!
