Joanna Jedrzejczyk and experienced middleweight contender Ian Heinisch have jointly informed the UFC of their decisions to retire.
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Former strawweight titleholder Joanna Jedrzejczyk and experienced middleweight contender Ian Heinisch have jointly informed the UFC of their decisions to retire from the world of competitive fighting. This development was substantiated by UFC authorities and shared with MMA Fighting on Tuesday.
Technically, Jedrzejczyk had already entered retirement in 2022, officially concluding her career subsequent to a defeat against Zhang Weili at UFC 275. Despite her absence from the octagon since that encounter, she upheld her affiliation with the UFC’s anti-doping initiative. Up until this point, however, she hadn’t formally conveyed her retirement to the organization.
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Jedrzejczyk toyed with the idea of staging a return following her retirement declaration. However, her aspirations were dashed as a shoulder ailment surfaced, demanding surgical intervention and effectively quashing her intentions of stepping into the ring once more. Concluding her career with a tally of 16 victories and 5 losses, Jedrzejczyk’s legacy encompasses an impressive quintet of successful defenses of the UFC strawweight championship.
Heinisch had earlier communicated his decision to embark on an unspecified hiatus from the sport, accompanied by intentions to extricate himself from the United States Anti-Doping Agency-administered UFC anti-doping initiative.
Heinisch voiced apprehensions regarding his well-being, a pivotal factor that prompted him to distance himself from the fighting arena prior to formally communicating his retirement to the UFC.
“I’m making the decision right now to take a step back and get out of the USADA pool, do some peptides, and some other treatments and heal,” Heinisch said on Instagram in July. “That’s what I’m trying to do right now. Yeah, it’s tough, but it’s been a long journey and I have to do this. I can’t keep making my head worse. I know I can’t.”
Heinisch curated an impressive 14-5 track record throughout his career, embarking on a remarkable seven-fight journey within the UFC subsequent to his entry through Dana White’s Contender Series.
The prospect remains open for both Heinisch and Jedrzejczyk to potentially make a comeback in the fighting realm. However, this path necessitates their re-enrollment into the UFC’s anti-doping regimen, subjecting them to a minimum of six months of rigorous testing before they are granted the opportunity to step back into the competitive arena.
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