The Bottom Line: An Impact Player

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As the Ultimate Fighting Championship rolled out its women’s divisions over the last decade, each of the weight classes came to be defined by a single fighter. For the bantamweight division, that fighter was Ronda Rousey. Amanda Nunes’ later dominance would come over a stronger crop of opponents, but her fights were only viewed by a fraction of the audience when compared to “Rowdy Ronda,” and even now, over five years since Rousey’s last fight, no fighter is associated more with female MMA than the tempestuous judo expert.

The flyweight division has been defined instead by Valentina Shevchenko, and it has been played out in her image: low profile and not particularly competitive because of her exemplary skill. The hope for those looking for greater competition is that Taila Santos’ showing at UFC 275 on Saturday portends either her rise as a viable rival to Shevchenko or a signal that opponents in general are closing the gap with Shevchenko.

The UFC’s featherweight division was created for Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino, and like her career, it has been defined by mismatches and lack of depth. Nunes took the mantle from her and continued laying waste to the opposition just like “Cyborg” did before her. It’s the division in the UFC whose status is most tenuous as the promotion struggles to find a handful of opponents who can be matched against the dominant champion.

Then there is the strawweight division, which has largely been the inverse of the featherweight division. No women’s division has as much depth nor as many high-level fighters at the top, with four of the top eight pound-for-pound female fighters coming from weight class. It’s the gold standard for women’s MMA, and that appears unlikely to change any time soon. It’s not a coincidence that division has been defined by the great Joanna Jedrzejczyk more than anyone else.

When Jedrzejczyk entered the UFC in 2014, the women’s strawweight division was not yet close to what it would become. “The Ultimate Fighter” tournament that crowned the first strawweight champion had some high-quality fighters that have lasted as contenders, but the perception of the group was not that strong. Rose Namajunas was still only 2-1 as a pro when she entered the tournament, while Carla Esparza was the top seed but was still best known for her losses in Bellator MMA to future World Series of Fighting champion Jessica Aguilar and onetime pound-for-pound queen Megumi Fujii.

Jedrzejczyk changed the mood of the division in a big way when she ran through Esparza for the title and then demolished Jessica Penne. There was not only an undeniable skill to Jedrzejczyk’s crisp striking but a violence to it. She was not a slick submission artist but a compact marauder, and she challenged the rest of the division to improve or get run over. It was the jolt of electricity that influenced everything that came after.

Besides her fighting style, Jedrzejczyk made the sport more fun with her persona. She wasn’t afraid to show off her confidence and swagger, championing her own skills and taunting her opponents. That comfort in her own skin made her cool, and there was an underlying marketability upon which the UFC never fully capitalized by continually putting her second from the top on pay-per-views rather than giving her the full spotlight and seeing how fans would react.

Jedrzejczyk struggled in recent years, but there’s no shame in losing to the likes of Namajunas, Shevchenko and Weili Zhang. Given Jedrzejczyk’s competitive spirit, there had to be something more satisfying about being challenged by surging rivals than being presented with opponents who couldn’t match her ability. It also led to what will be the most remembered fight of her career: the classic first fight with Zhang that will still be getting referenced a decade from now.

Sports retirements are so often ephemeral and individual sport retirements even more so. Given Jedrzejczyk’s competitive edge, she may want to scratch that itch at some point. Whether she does fight again or whether her UFC 275 rematch with Zhang was her final fight, she not only had an excellent career but crafted a lasting legacy. It’s impossible to know what women’s MMA would look like if she never came along, but it’s hard to imagine it would be in a better place.