Polish MMA stars Jan Blachowicz and Joanna Jedrzejczyk both have the distinction of being former UFC champions.
Blachowicz reigned supreme over the light heavyweight division in 2020 and 2021, while Jedrzejczyk is one of the best strawweights in history, having held the division title from 2015 to 2017.
With shared roots in Poland, the two men have known each other since before their arrival in the UFC, back when they both competed in Muay Thai and kickboxing.
Talk about Instagram Blachowicz recently reflected on the early years of his career with Jedrzejczyk.
“This photo was taken in 2008,” Blachowicz wrote on Instagram, sharing a photo of himself and Jedrzejczyk. “The Zgorzelec Muay Thai training camp. At that time, we both didn’t know where life would take us. We had high goals. We wanted to win, collect medals. We had already accomplished feats that we were proud of. But we always dreamed of something bigger. To climb the highest peaks. After 15 years in this sport, we can proudly say that. Joanna, we made this dream come true.”
Blachowicz, born in the Polish city of Cieszyn, won the vacant UFC light heavyweight title in 2020, knocking out Dominick Reyes in the second round. In his next fight, he defended his belt with an impressive decision win over then-middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. He lost the title in his next fight, falling to Glover Teixeira.
After a win over Aleksandar Rakic, Blachowicz attempted to reclaim the title in 2022, taking on Russian Magomed Ankalaev for the vacant belt. Unfortunately, the fight ended in a draw and neither man was given another chance at the belt.
Jedrzejczyk, from the city of Olsztyn, won the strawweight title with a devastating knockout of inaugural champion Carla Esparza in 2015. She defended her belt by beating Jessica Penne, Valerie Letourneau, Claudia Gadelha, Karolina Kowalkiewicz and Jessica Andrade. She then lost the title by first-round knockout to Rose Namajunas.
Jedrzejczyk managed to reclaim the title twice, first against Namajunas and then against Weili Zhang in 2018 and 2020 respectively, but lost by decision both times. Nevertheless, she is considered an MMA legend and was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame this year as a result.
