Former UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk, who retired in 2022, has admitted to contemplating a comeback but has ultimately decided not to fight in the UFC again due to persistent back problems and other challenges.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk, like many fighters, has found retirement challenging. The ex-UFC strawweight champion bid farewell to her career in 2022. This was after a knockout loss to Zhang Weili in her bid to secure another title shot at 115 pounds. Despite announcing her retirement, the 36-year-old Poland native never completely abandoned the idea of competing again.
Even at UFC 299 this past weekend, she was still mulling over a comeback. “I gotta be real with you, yeah [I thought about fighting again],” Jedrzejczyk admitted on The MMA Hour. “Just a few days before the last show in Miami [at UFC 299], I was trying to convince my manager to let me go in. But my family, some of my fans and friends, they don’t want me to do this anymore. I’m torn, but I’m not going to fight in the UFC ever again.”
The period immediately after her decision to retire was particularly tough for Jedrzejczyk. She felt ready to fight again. She even traveled to Florida to train with her old coaches at American Top Team. But that trip also reminded her why she retired in the first place.
“Honestly, the first eight months after I retired were probably the most difficult months in my life,” Jedrzejczyk revealed. “I was thinking everyday, I was even calling and texting [UFC CEO] Dana [White], [UFC COO] Hunter [Campbell], my manager, Dan Lambert, my family that I was going to come back.
“Actually, I went to the States — I don’t know if you saw, but I was back to American Top Team in January last year, and I was training really hard for four weeks. I was ready to schedule a fight, but then a super back injury came back, and I had to go through the medical procedure, and I’m still trying to get in shape after a year.”
During her UFC career, Jedrzejczyk was plagued with various back problems. The harsh realization that her body wasn’t going to allow her to fight again was a tough pill to swallow.
After dedicating so much of her life to combat sports, Jedrzejcyzk didn’t really know anything else, and walking away from fighting was probably the most difficult decision she’s ever made. To add to that, she admits getting back into training again wasn’t easy, especially after she stopped going through the rigorous training camps that ate up the majority of her time each and every year.
“It was super difficult, because the last 10 years, I was training two to three times a day for the last 20 years, and I went from three to zero for a few months,” Jedrzejczyk explained. “It was really difficult for my head, my body in general. It was super difficult. I’m getting better. I just got back on the mats, some jiu-jitsu training, Muay Thai.”
“From fight to fight, the camps are getting more and more difficult, physically and mentally. The thing is I don’t know how to go easy, I don’t know the shortcuts. I always go 100 percent. Somehow I miss this. I miss this s***** job, but I love it at the same time.”
In June, Jedrzejczyk becomes the latest inductee into the UFC Hall of Fame. She was emotional when the reveal of her induction was made earlier this month in Miami. Whenever she makes an appearance at an event like UFC 299, she’s often inundated with questions about a comeback and the fight she would pick if she came back again.
She has an answer prepared, even if she knows the fight will never actually happen.
“People used to ask me who I would love to fight, and I was always saying that they all want to fight me,” Jedrzejczyk said. “Because I felt I was the gatekeeper for big fights and big money, but of course, I was just joking. You know me, I always wanted to fight, no matter where and what time.
“I think people would love to see me and Mackenzie Dern. Typical fight between striker and a grappler. I respect Mackenzie so much. It will not happen.”
Jedrzejcyzk doesn’t live in absolutes, so she can’t say with 100 percent certainty that she’ll never get the itch to fight again. But chances are that feeling will never completely subside. One day, she might consider getting back into competitive martial arts again, but it’s highly unlikely she’ll ever actually return from retirement to fight again in the UFC.
“Right now, I will never fight again,” Jedrzejcyzk said. “Of course, like everything in our lives. I can change my mind. I could wake up tomorrow and say I’m not happy. Honestly, I’m happy with my life. I’m very happy as a woman. I’m human, a businesswoman.
“I hope I will stay retired forever. Maybe you’ll see me in some jiu-jitsu competitions one day.”