UFC introduced on Saturday that former UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk shall be inducted into the UFC Corridor of Fame’s ‘Trendy Wing’ as a member of the Class of 2024. Joanna will enter the Corridor of Fame because the second feminine inductee in UFC historical past and first from the strawweight division.
The 2024 UFC Corridor of Fame Induction Ceremony will happen as a part of the twelfth Annual UFC Worldwide Struggle Week, on Thursday, June 27, at T-Cellular Area.
“Joanna is among the biggest athletes in fight sports activities historical past,” UFC CEO Dana White stated. “Joanna is a tremendous one who has been an unimaginable champion, ambassador, and function mannequin for girls’s MMA, in addition to an absolute killer contained in the Octagon. She fought the very best of the very best in her division and by no means backed down from an opponent. Joanna is among the hardest athletes we’ve ever seen, and it will likely be an honor to induct her into the UFC Corridor of Fame this summer time throughout Worldwide Struggle Week.”
Joanna will enter the UFC Corridor of Fame because the thirteenth member of the Trendy Wing, becoming a member of former UFC light-weight champion Frankie Edgar as a part of this 12 months’s class. The “Trendy Period” class contains athletes who turned professional on or after November 17, 2000 (when the primary UFC occasion underneath the unified guidelines of MMA was held), are a minimal age of 35, or who’ve been retired for one 12 months or extra.A veteran of 21 fights throughout her 10-year skilled MMA profession, Joanna compiled a file of 16-5 (10-5 UFC), securing victories over former UFC strawweight champions Carla Esparza and Jessica Andrade. Joanna made her skilled MMA debut on Might 19, 2021, profitable her first struggle by way of unanimous determination. She would win her subsequent 5 fights throughout 5 MMA promotions for the following two years earlier than becoming a member of UFC with a 6-0 file.Joanna made her UFC debut on the FIGHT PASS prelims of UFC On FOX: Lawler vs. Brown, which occurred on July 26, 2014, at SAP Heart in San Jose, Calif. Joanna defeated Juliana Lima by way of unanimous determination to proceed her profitable streak. She returned to the Octagon® 5 months later in December to face Claudia Gadelha on the prelims of UFC oN FOX: Dos Santos vs. Miocic in a strawweight title elimination bout. Joanna defeated Gadelha by way of break up determination to develop into the number-one contender of the division and face then-champion Carla Esparza at UFC 185: Pettis vs. Dos Anjos.UFC 185: Pettis vs. Dos Anjos occurred on March 14, 2015, on the American Airways Heart in Dallas, Tex. Joanna took management of the struggle early and scored TKO within the second spherical to develop into UFC’s first Polish-born champion and first feminine European UFC champion. She would defend the strawweight championship 5 occasions over the following two years, setting a file for many title defenses within the division and decisively profitable every struggle.Joanna would lose her subsequent two fights in opposition to former UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas within the co-main occasions of UFC® 217 and UFC® 223, ending a streak of 14 consecutive victories as knowledgeable MMA athlete.Joanna returned to the Octagon on July 28, 2018, to face Tecia Torres on the principle card of UFC nN FOX: Alvarez vs. Poirier 2. She would defeat Torres by way of a unanimous determination and transfer to flyweight to vie for the vacant title in opposition to Valentina Shevchenko.Joanna would lose to Shevchenko and return to strawweight to face Michelle Waterson-Gomez, headlining UFC FIGHT NIGHT: Joanna vs. Waterson on October 19, 2019, at Amalie Area in Orlando. Fla. She would win by way of unanimous determination and earn a title shot in opposition to then-UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili within the co-main occasion at UFC 248: Adesanya vs. Romero.UFC 248: Adesanya vs. Romero occurred on March 7, 2020, at T-Cellular Area in Las Vegas. Each athletes persistently traded punches forwards and backwards for 5 rounds, with Zhang profitable by way of break up determination in what’s broadly thought-about to be one of many biggest fights in UFC historical past. Through the struggle, Joanna landed 186 vital strikes on Zhang, which marks the third-most in UFC strawweight historical past. She retired in June 2022 after shedding her rematch to Weili at UFC 275: Teixiera vs. Prochazka.Joanna enters the UFC Corridor of Fame with a formidable resume that features:
UFC:
Most vital strikes landed in UFC ladies’s historical past – 1,754Most title struggle wins in UFC strawweight historical past – 6Highest fee of serious strikes per minute in UFC strawweight historical past – 6.59Highest vital strike differential per minute in UFC strawweight historical past – +3.37Longest profitable streak in UFC strawweight historical past – 8Tied for many wins in UFC strawweight historical past – 10Recorded six of the highest 10 most vital strikes landed in a struggle in UFC strawweight history225 vs. Andrade (UFC 211)220 vs. Letourneau (UFC 193)186 vs. Zhang (UFC 248)180 vs. Waterson – Gomez (UFC FN: Joanna vs. Waterson)176 vs. Gadelha (TUF Finale: Joanna vs. Claudia 2)171 vs. Kowalkiewicz (UFC 205)
A local of Olsztyn, Poland, Joanna started competing in Muay Thai on the age of 16. She competed in 40 beginner Muay Thai fights, compiling a 37-3 file earlier than turning professional. Her solely three losses have been to future UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko. As an beginner, she captured 4 consecutive gold medals (2009-13) and a silver medal (2008) in the course of the IFMA World Championships. As knowledgeable Muay Thai and kickboxer, she fought in 31 matches, registering a 27-3 file with one draw, and have become the World Kickboxing Federation’s European champion in 2010.A philanthropist in her native Poland, Joanna is an envoy for a number of youngsters’s hospitals and meals banks, elevating funds and consciousness for households in want.
