“I hate myself in the Octagon because I’m a different person,” she told me in 2015 before her UFC 193 win over Valerie Letourneau. “When I watch the video or pictures from the fight, I don’t like this Joanna. But this is my job, this is how we do it, and I think it’s a good part because I’m not afraid. I love to compete and it’s all about the sport. I don’t want to hurt my opponents. And I hate trash talk, but when they come too close, I must switch. That’s all.”
That switch was what she needed to become one of the most dominant champions in UFC history. The numbers speak for themselves, but it was how she won that made her a star. The punishing stoppages of Esparza and Jessica Penne, the gritty late-fight surge that beat Claudia Gadelha in their rematch, and a disciplined shutout of Jessica Andrade.
Even when she lost her rematch with Namajunas and the two bouts with Zhang, she did so battling to the end, and having one of the greatest fights in history the first time around with Zhang is something to be proud of, as well.
So while this is an ending, Joanna Jedrzejczyk shouldn’t leave the sport as an active competitor with her head down or any regrets. She did what she set out to do all those years ago.
To be the best. To be remembered. To be Joanna Champion.