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The 2024 UFC Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place during the 12th annual UFC International Fight Week on Thursday, June 27, at T-Mobile Arena and will be broadcast live exclusively on UFC FIGHT PASS.
“Joanna is one of the greatest athletes in the history of combat sports,” said UFC CEO Dana White. “Joanna is an extraordinary 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 have ever seen, and it will be an honor to induct her into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer during International Fight Week.
Joanna will enter the UFC Hall of Fame as the 13th member of the Modern Wing, joining former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar as part of this year’s class. The “Modern Era” category includes athletes who turned professional on or after November 17, 2000 (the date the first UFC event under the Unified Rules of MMA took place), who are at least 35 years old, or who have been retired for a year or more.
A veteran of 21 fights during her 10-year professional MMA career, Joanna has compiled a record of 16-5 (10-5 UFC), scoring victories over former UFC strawweight champions. Carla Esparza And Jessica Andrade.
Joanna made her professional MMA debut on May 19, 2021, winning her first fight via unanimous decision. She would win her next five fights in five MMA promotions over the next two years before joining the UFC with a 6-0 record.
Joanna made her UFC debut during the FIGHT PASS preliminaries of UFC ON FOX: LAWLER vs. BROWNwhich took place on July 26, 2014 at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. Joanna defeated Juliana Lima by unanimous decision to continue her winning streak.
She returned to the Octagon five months later, in December, to face Claudia Gadelha in the preliminaries of UFC ON FOX: DOS SANTOS vs. MIOCIC in a strawweight title eliminator fight.
Joanna defeated Gadelha by split decision to become the division’s number one contender and face then-champion Carla Esparza at UFC 185: PETTIS vs. DOS ANJOS.
UFC 185: PETTIS vs. DOS ANJOS took place on March 14, 2015 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Joanna took control of the fight early and scored a second-round TKO to become the first Polish-born UFC champion and the first female UFC European champion. She would defend the strawweight championship five times over the next two years, setting a record for most title defenses in the division and decisively winning each fight.
Joanna would lose her next two fights against former UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas in the co-main events of UFC 217 and UFC 223, ending a 14-fight winning streak as as a professional MMA athlete.
Joanna returned to the Octagon on July 28, 2018 to face Tecia Torres on the main card of UFC ON FOX: ALVAREZ vs. POIRIER 2. She would beat Torres by unanimous decision and move up to flyweight to compete for the vacant title against Valentina Shevchenko.
Joanna would lose to Shevchenko and return to strawweight to face headliner Michelle Waterson-Gomez UFC FIGHT NIGHT: JOANNA vs. WATERSON on October 19, 2019 at Amalie Arena in Orlando. Florida, she would win by unanimous decision and earn a title shot against then-UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili in the co-main event at UFC 248: ADESANYA vs. ROMERO.
UFC 248: ADESANYA vs. ROMERO took place on March 7, 2020 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The two athletes constantly traded punches for five rounds, with Zhang winning by split decision in what is widely considered one of the greatest fights in UFC history. During the fight, Joanna landed 186 significant strikes on Zhang, which marks the third record in UFC strawweight history. She retired in June 2022 after losing her rematch against Weili at UFC 275: TEIXEIRA vs. PROCHAZKA.
Joanna enters the UFC Hall of Fame with an impressive resume that includes:
CFU:
- Most significant strikes occurred in UFC women’s history – 1,754
- Most title fight wins in UFC strawweight history – 6
- Highest significant strikes per minute rate in UFC strawweight history – 6.59
- Highest significant strike differential per minute in UFC strawweight history – +3.37
- Longest winning streak in UFC strawweight history – 8
- Tied for most wins in UFC strawweight history – 10
- Recorded six of the 10 most significant strikes in a fight in UFC strawweight history.
- 225 vs. Andrade (UFC 211)
- 220 against Létourneau (UFC 193)
- 186 vs. Zhang (UFC 248)
- 180 against Waterson – Gomez (UFC FN: Joanna against Waterson)
- 176 against Gadelha (TUF Final: Joanna against Claudia 2)
- 171 vs. Kowalkiewicz (UFC 205)
Outside of the Octagon, Joanna has received numerous awards throughout her career, including Female Fighter of the Year in 2015 by Addicted to MMA. Joanna’s unforgettable 2020 fight against then-UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili at UFC 248 won Fight of the Year honors of Addicted to MMA, MMA fights, BT Sport, Athleticismand the Fighters only World MMA Awards.
Originally from Olsztyn, Poland, Joanna began competing in Muay Thai at the age of 16. She competed in 40 amateur Muay Thai fights, compiling a record of 37-3 before turning professional. Her only three losses were to future UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko. As an amateur, she won four consecutive gold medals (2009-13) and one silver medal (2008) at the IFMA World Championships. As a professional Muay Thai and kickboxer, she fought in 31 matches, recording a record of 27-3 with one draw, and became World Kickboxing Federation European Champion in 2010.
A philanthropist in her native Poland, Joanna is an ambassador for several children’s hospitals and food banks, raising funds and awareness for families in need.
To view Joanna’s UFC FIGHT PASS collection, please visit: https://ufcfightpass.com/playlist/20540
To view a complete list of UFC athletes and fights enshrined in the UFC Hall of Fame and details regarding the UFC Hall of Fame format, please visit UFCHOF. For more information, please visit UFC.com.
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