The 5 best UFC fighters from Europe

#2 Joanna Jedrzejczyk

Joanna Jedrzejczyk managed five successful defences of her UFC title

Otherwise known as ‘Joanna Violence’ or ‘Joanna Champion’ due to the tricky pronunciation of her Polish surname, Jedrzejczyk was recently defeated by Rose Namajunas for her Strawweight title.

Before that loss though, she’d built a reputation as one of the UFC’s most fearsome champions, and with five successive title defences – over just two years, which is insane really – she could already have made a fair claim as being one of the all-time greats of the Octagon. After all, even legendary champions like BJ Penn and Chuck Liddell didn’t manage as many successful defences.

Joanna was largely unknown when she joined the UFC’s roster in 2014 as part of the new Strawweight division. She came in from her native Poland with a 6-0 MMA record and a handful of world kickboxing titles, but it was her win over Brazilian standout Claudia Gadelha – seen by many as the best 115lber in the world – that opened many people’s eyes.

Jedrzejczyk showed striking skill not yet seen in the division and was able to survive Gadelha’s powerful grappling, too. That win netted her a title shot against champion Carla Esparza, and although she came in as an underdog, Jedrzejczyk butchered the champion over two rounds to claim the title.

After that, she just seemed to get better with each fight, showing improved movement, striking variation, cardio and wrestling, and it was this incredible curve that allowed her to defeat top contenders like Gadelha (in a rematch), Karolina Kowalkiewicz and Jessica Andrade, all with relative ease in lopsided fashion.

It’s too early to tell how she’ll bounce back from the loss to Namajunas – did she take her too lightly? – but even if she fails upon her return, for her run of dominance from 2014 to 2017 – eight successive wins and five title defences – she’ll remain up there with the greats anyway.