Joanna Jedrzejczyk admits UFC retirement remains her biggest regret

It’s coming up on three years since Joanna Jedrzejczyk hung up her gloves, and she’s the first to admit second thoughts.

In a new walk-and-talk with Jedrzejczyk on a day off in London with social media host Elz the Witch, the former UFC women’s strawweight champion and UFC Hall of Famer said she regrets retiring.

“I retired three years ago – I keep regretting this,” Jedrzejczyk said. “I was in a relationship at that time, and I was a decorated fighter already. I was like, ‘Oh – maybe I’ll marry this guy and I’ll have a baby.’ But life is so unpredictable. It’s not that I retired for him or (someone else). But I had plans, and it didn’t work out. I could’ve still been fighting and doing what I love the most. So I regret it sometimes, that I retired. But only sometimes.”

Jedrzejczyk (16-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC), a five-time UFC strawweight champion, was inducted into the modern era wing of the UFC Hall of Fame in 2024 and became just the second woman inducted.

Jedrzejczyk hung up her gloves after a knockout loss to Zhang Weili in June 2022.