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Ex-strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk and middleweight veteran Ian Heinisch have both notified the UFC of their retirement from the sport.
UFC officials confirmed the news to MMA Fighting on Tuesday.
Jedrzejczyk has technically been retired since 2022 when she called it a career following a loss to Zhang Weili at UFC 275. While she hasn’t fought since then, she remained part of the UFC’s anti-doping program, and she hadn’t notified the promotion about her retirement –until now.
Jedrzejczyk contemplated a comeback after announcing her retirement, but she ultimately suffered a shoulder injury that required surgery, which nixed her plans to fight again.
Jedrzejczyk retires with a 16-5 overall record, including five defenses of the UFC strawweight title.
Heinisch previously announced he was taking an indefinite break from the sport with plans to remove himself from the UFC’s anti-doping program, which is facilitated by the United States Anti-Doping Agency.
Heinisch expressed concerns over his health, and that led to him taking a step back from fighting before notifying the UFC of his retirement.
“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 put together a 14-5 record during his career, including a seven fight run with the UFC after joining the promotion by way of Dana White’s Contender Series.
It’s entirely possible that Heinisch or Jedrzejczyk could decide to fight again, but that would require them to re-enter the UFC’s anti-doping program and undergo at least six months of testing before being allowed to compete again.
Guilherme Cruz contributed to this report.
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