Joanna Jedrzejczyk, now 34 years of age, always knew her time in the spotlight would come to an end. She recently signed a new UFC contract, and with the former strawweight champ eyeing the prospect of starting a family, she told MMA Fighting considering hanging up the gloves for good once she’s fought out the new contract.
“For sure [it could be my final contract]. It’s a six-fight deal. But this fight is not going to be my last fight or the second or the third — I feel a second wind. I’m turning 35 this year and I never felt so good. Physically, mentally, I’m just happy.”
Jedrzejczyk Eyes Retirement with End of UFC Contract
Jedrzejczyk is set to return to the Octagon on June 11, where she will fight Zhang Weili for the second time. The last fight’s gruelling five rounds saw Joanna absorb 170 strikes over the course of 25 minutes. Surely enduring that kind of damage at the tail end of her career has the former champ looking more seriously at moving on from the fight game. It certainly wasn’t the least of considerations when negotiating her new UFC contract.
“All of the opportunities I have outside of the gym and outside of the octagon, the money I can make isn’t easy because I have to work my ass so hard. But somehow you need this extra motivation to get back to the octagon.
I can’t just go there and get my face beat up again for little money and no exposure, etc. There has to be something extra beside the love and the desire I have to this sport. I feel like I’m still one of the greatest in the strawweight division and I just want to go there and prove that on June 11.”
Now, with retirement on the horizon, Joanna Jedrzejczyk wants to cement her legacy in the sport.
“I used to like to be on the go and not sit with my legacy. Now I approach [it like] the love in my life. My sports legacy is so big and some people are still saying I’m not the champion anymore. OK, but I’ve been there and I know my value. This is amazing.
That’s why I feel pure now going into this camp and this fight. I love Florida, I love American Top Team, I love Dan Lambert and all of these people, and it feels like I don’t want to leave. I want to spend more time training, to be around here, these people and fighting.”
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Joanna Jedrzejczyk on Zhang Weili Rematch: ‘You Don’t Take Second Place’
