5 most iconic moments of Joanna Jędrzejczyk's UFC career

#2. Joanna Jędrzejczyk and Zhang Weili make history – UFC 248

Back in February 2020, in the final UFC pay-per-view in front of a capacity crowd before the subsequent government-imposed lockdowns brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, Zhang Weili and Joanna Jędrzejczyk delivered the greatest fight in the history of women’s MMA.

Weili was the reigning strawweight queen at the time, while Jędrzejczyk was coming off a unanimous decision victory over top 115-pound contender Michelle Waterson. The former champion was looking to reclaim the belt she lost to Rose Namajunas three years prior.

Zhang Weili and Joanna Jędrzejczyk [Image via @Legionnairecsn on Twitter]

The fight was a barnburner from start to finish, with Jędrzejczyk using her superior speed and distance management to keep the champion at bay early on while Weili thundered forward with powerful combinations.

For some reason, Jędrzejczyk completely ditched her gameplan and proceeded to throw down with the Chinese titleholder, which created numerous jaw-dropping striking exchanges. The strawweight duo slugged it out for five rounds, and in the dying seconds of the fight, the entire crowd in attendance rose to their feet in ovation.

Their back-and-forth slugfest went on to win the UFC's 'Fight of the Year' award, becoming the first women's bout to earn the accolade. Weili came away with a narrow split decision win on the night and retained her belt as a result.

Nevertheless, many believe that Jędrzejczyk deserved to get the nod and she was praised for her hearty performance by every section of the MMA community. Her showdown with Weili will undoubtedly go down in history as one of the greatest fights of all time.

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#1. Undefeated Joanna Jędrzejczyk wins UFC gold – UFC 185

Joanna Jędrzejczyk is ubiquitously regarded as the most dominant champion in the history of the 115-pound division.

After back-to-back victories over Juliana Lima and Claudia Gadelha, Jędrzejczyk was handed a championship opportunity at UFC 185, where she took on then-strawweight champion Carla Esparza. This fight kicked off one of the longest championship reigns in UFC history.

Esparza, with her extensive wrestling background, was considered a nightmare stylistic matchup for Jędrzejczyk. The Polish star had never faced a wrestler quite as credentialled as 'Cookie Monster' previously.

Somewhat surprisingly, Jędrzejczyk stopped every one of Esparza's attempts to take the fight to the ground. As the champion realized that she wasn't going to secure a takedown, the challenger's confidence grew and she eventually found her striking rhythm in the second round.

With a minute remaining in the second frame, Jędrzejczyk unleashed a barrage of accurate punches on Esparza, who eventually crumbled to the canvas, prompting the referee to call a halt to the action.

After winning the title with her scintillating TKO victory over Carla Esparza, Joanna Jędrzejczyk went on to defend her belt five times. She will more than likely be inducted in the Hall of Fame at some point down the line, both for her career and her incredible five-round war with Zhang Weili.

More importantly, Jędrzejczyk played a crucial role in the development of the strawweight division, arguably the most exciting weight class in all of women's MMA. Her edgy style, ability the play up the role of the antagonist and unmatched grit will see her go down as one of the greatest female fighters to ever grace the octagon.