5 reasons why Joanna Jedrzejczyk was right to announce her retirement

#2. Joanna Jedrzejczyk has nothing left to prove

Joanna Jedrzejczyk is probably still the GOAT of the UFC's strawweight division

When it comes to deciding who the greatest of all time is in any of the UFC’s weight classes, the easiest way to pick is to simply look at which fighter had the most dominant run as champion.

It’s clear, for instance, that the UFC’s greatest middleweight is still Anderson Silva, while it’s unlikely that any welterweights will ever edge past Georges St-Pierre in the future. Demetrious Johnson famously put together eleven flyweight title defenses, meaning nobody is ever likely to surpass him, either.

In terms of the strawweight division, then, is it fair to say that Joanna Jedrzejczyk should be considered the GOAT? In all honesty, the answer is yes.

The Polish fighter won the UFC strawweight title in 2015 and went onto defend it successfully on five occasions, and even after losing it to Rose Namajunas, she was able to pick up victories over great fighters such as Tecia Torres and Michelle Waterson.

Even if she isn’t the GOAT, then she’s definitely in the conversation, and that means that she essentially has nothing left to prove by sticking around. For all intents and purposes, she’s already reached her goals. Therefore, it’s probably better that she walks away now.

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#1. It's better to walk away when you're at the top than to fall any further

By walking away before she suffers too many bad losses, Joanna Jedrzejczyk has cemented her legacy

Over the years, we’ve seen countless numbers of once-great fighters in the UFC fall from grace and end up sliding down the rankings, often to the point where they’re almost considered a parody of their former selves.

B.J. Penn, for instance, became a UFC legend after claiming the welterweight and lightweight titles, but the Hawaiian ended his career on the back of a horrendous run of seven straight losses.

Former middleweight champ Anderson Silva ended up losing to the likes of Jared Cannonier and Uriah Hall, fighters he’d have comfortably dealt with in his prime. Meanwhile, former light heavyweight champ Chuck Liddell suffered multiple embarrassing knockouts before finally hanging up his gloves.

On the other side of the coin, fighters who chose the right time to walk away are few and far between, with the likes of Daniel Cormier and Georges St-Pierre being two of the only names to come to mind in that sense.

However, by choosing to hang up her gloves after just two successive losses, Joanna Jedrzejczyk is highly likely to join that list. Essentially, the Polish star has chosen to walk away near the top of the strawweight division, rather than risk falling any further, something that would be possible were she to continue to fight.

Sure, the likes of Penn and Silva still have their legacies, but it’s hard not to see them as tainted in a way due to their later losses. By choosing to walk away now, Jedrzejczyk is ensuring that her legacy remains intact, and it’s the smartest decision she could’ve made.

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