Joanna Jedrzejczyk will become the second female enshrined in the UFC Hall of Fame as part of the 2024 class.
Jedrzejczyk, a former longtime UFC strawweight champion, is set to join Ronda Rousey as the only woman in the UFC Hall of Fame, in the modern era wing, the promotion announced during Saturday’s UFC 299 broadcast.
“Joanna is one of the greatest athletes in combat sports history,” UFC CEO Dana White said in a press release. “Joanna is an amazing person who has been an incredible champion, ambassador, and role model for women’s MMA, as well as an absolute killer inside the Octagon. She fought the best of the best in her division and never backed down from an opponent. Joanna is one of the toughest athletes we’ve ever seen, and it will be an honor to induct her into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer during International Fight Week.”
The Polish fighter entered the UFC in July 2014 with an undefeated record and a decorated muay-Thai background. After winning her first two octagon appearances, Jedrzejczyk got a title shot against inaugural 115-pound titleholder Carla Esparza at UFC 185, turning in a dominating performance for a second-round knockout to claim gold.
That started one of the most dominant female title runs in UFC history. Jedrzejczyk would go on to defend the belt five consecutive times, recording some of the most lopsided championship performances ever seen inside the octagon.
Jedrzejczyk’s run on top came to an end at UFC 217 in November 2017 when she was knocked out by Rose Namajunas. She could not reclaim the belt after multiple attempts, but would still turn in more memorable bouts, such as her 2020 Fight of the Year against Zhang Weili at UFC 248 in March 2020, which will surely enter the UFC Hall of Fame fight wing at some point in the future.
The final fight of Jedrzejczyk’s memorable career came in July 2020, when she lost a rematch with Weili by second-round knockout at UFC 275, retiring inside the cage afterward.
Jedrzejczyk, 36, is the third fighter to be announced for the 2024 UFC Hall of Fame class, alongside former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and former PRIDE FC champ Wanderlei Silva.
She also joins the Hall of Fame pioneer wing which currently includes Forrest Griffin, B.J. Penn, Urijah Faber, Rousey, Michael Bisping, Rashad Evans, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Daniel Cormier, Jose Aldo and Donald Cerrone.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 299.
