Joanna Jedrzejczyk doesn’t know how to stop. She retired from combat sports in June 2022, and immediately plunged into another sport—racing. “I want to take part in the Dakar Rally,” the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) strawweight champion says. Usually held in the desert, drivers must navigate treacherous terrain. There are accidents and serious injuries every year.
Jedrzejczyk is undaunted. She already hired a coach and went through several training sessions. In one session, she even flipped the car while driving fast. After being successfully extricated, the people around her told her to reconsider this mad passion. Jedrzejczyk paid no heed to them. “You must jump back in the seat again. You must drive. That’s how you get over the fear.”
The Polish fighter admitted that she had always loved automobiles, especially sports cars. Growing up, she would admire Ferraris, Porsches and Mercedes-AMGs from afar. “I love the noise that a V8 makes,” she says.
She also grew up with sports. She played basketball seriously as a child until a health condition forced her to stop. Fortunately, as she reached the tail end of her teenage years, the issue subsided. She picked up Muay Thai, fell in love with the discipline, and trained religiously.
She has never stopped since.
Still, retirement has made her less disciplined with her diet and training, she laughs. It’s the main reason why she wants to set that big, hairy goal of competing in the Dakar Rally. It gives her focus and motivation. “And I love the beautiful brutality. I love being in danger somehow.”
When she’s not putting herself in danger, Jedrzejczyk is also running the JJ Stars Foundation. It helps children to achieve their physical and cultural goals, whatever they may be, through scholarships, grants, and social connections. She only set it up last year but has been busy running several projects in her home country.
Jedrzejczyk also started a supplements company called MYLABS. As with anything she does in her life, Jedrzejczyk is going full throttle. She’s applied to Harvard Business School and is keeping her fingers crossed that she’ll get into the programme to learn more about business and marketing so that she can grow MYLABS effectively.
Is she ever going to take a break? “Sometimes, we are tired and need rest. But we cannot stop. We can only slow down, but we must never stay still. If you do, you will lose yourself. And I find the most happiness being on the go.”
Then, Jedrzejczyk starts telling me about a tennis competition she joined recently. She lost, unfortunately, but it only added fuel to her engine. You can see it in her eyes.
