UFC bantamweight Sean O’Malley has given his thoughts on Joanna Jedrzejczyk’s decision to retire from mixed martial arts.
Last Saturday night at UFC 275, Joanna Jedrzejczyk left her gloves in the Octagon and walked away from the sport of MMA after years of being known as the strawweight GOAT. The Polish star fell short in her attempt to get revenge on Weili Zhang as she was knocked out cold by her Chinese counterpart courtesy of a vicious spinning back fist.
In her post-fight interview, the former champion confirmed that she will be walking away from the UFC for good in order to pursue business ventures and become a mother.
Sean O’Malley, who still has a lot left to prove in his own career, gave his thoughts on Joanna’s decision during a recent episode of his podcast.
“I guess she said in the fighter meeting – If she lost, she was gonna retire. Like, it’s such a, I feel like, not a good time to make that decision after getting knocked out.”
“But she said that she wants to be an entrepreneur, like a businesswoman, and do other things. Yeah, once you f**king, once you’ve made money, you can venture off into those other avenues. She’s probably like, ‘F**k this.’ It’s probably a good thing UFC fighters don’t get paid a lot of money until a long time.”
Quotes via Sportskeeda
Jedrzejczyk is known for being one of the most influential figures in the history of women’s MMA and as she approaches her 35th birthday, it seems as if she’s comfortable with the idea of not fighting again.
O’Malley, meanwhile, is just 27, and he’ll be returning to the cage next month to take on Pedro Munhoz at UFC 276.
What do you think about Sean O’Malley’s comments regarding Joanna Jedrzejczyk and her decision to retire?