Former UFC Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk Announces Retirement After Loss to Zhang Weili

Former UFC women's strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk announced her retirement from mixed martial arts competition Saturday night.

After her second-round knockout loss to Zhang Weili at UFC 275, Jedrzejczyk said she was walking away from the sport in her post-fight interview inside the Octagon.

UFC President Dana White praised Jedrzejczyk for having a stellar career and helping shape the course of women's mixed martial arts.

"She was such a huge part of the growth of women’s MMA, and it was incredible to have her be a part of this company," White told Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole. "We will ALL miss her!

When Jedrzejczyk signed a new UFC deal in April and agreed to her bout with Weili, she told MMA Fighting's Damon Martin it was a multi-fight contract with the promotion.

"It’s a multiple-fight deal," Jedrzejczyk told MMA Fighting. "I always said that I want to retire in the UFC, and of course people would love to see me doing this or that after, but I feel like if I retired from MMA, I would retire from the UFC, the best MMA league in the world."

Saturday marked Jedrzejczyk's first fight in 27 months. The Polish superstar lost to Weili at UFC 248 in March 2020 in a match for the women's strawweight title.

Jedrzejczyk has lost five of her last seven fights, with four of those bouts for either the women's strawweight or flyweight championship.

For most of her career, Jedrzejczyk was the best fighter in the women's 115-pound division. She become the second strawweight champion in UFC history when she beat Carla Esparza by TKO at UFC 185.

Jedrzejczyk began her career with 14 consecutive wins, including five successful title defenses. No other woman in the strawweight division has ever successfully defended the championship more than once.

Only counting her UFC tenure, Jedrzejczyk's 10 wins are tied with Esparza for most in the women's 115-pound weight class.