The UFC 299 card-opener took a twist this week when longtime fan fave Joanne Wood announced it would be her retirement fight.
Wood, who joined the UFC in 2014 as part of The Ultimate Fighter 20, which introduced the women’s strawweight division to the promotion, made history two years later by competing in the promotion’s inaugural women’s flyweight bout, against Valerie Letourneau. A permanent move to 125lbs followed in 2018, with “JoJo” winning her first two fights.
At times, she flirted with a title shot. She had been booked against Valentina Shevchenko in June of 2020, only for the champ to withdraw due to injury. Rather than wait, Wood (then known by her maiden name, Calderwood) took a fight against Jennifer Maiai that August. She’d lose the bout, and it was Maia fighting for the belt that November.
On Saturday in Miami, it was Maryna Moroz facing off against Wood, a Ukrainian talent who had previously faced Wood in 2015. Moroz had submitted the Scot with an arm-bar, and was no doubt hoping to see lightning strike twice.
It was less than two seconds, a just a couple of striking exchanges, before Moroz had taken Wood down, planting her on the canvas. Wood utilized a closed card and tried to tie up Moroz, pulling down on her opponent’s head/neck. Only problem, she wasn’t able to create any space for a scramble. Moroz, meanwhile, worked to half guard briefly and worked in some right hands before ending up back in Wood’s guard. She didn’t stay there long, returning to half guard and looking to set up an arm lock. Wood controlled the wrists to defend, and then latched on with a leg lock of her own.
Moroz pulled free, and Wood remained on her back, where she’d spent the bulk of the round. Moroz opened up a bit with ground n’ pound in the final thirty seconds, and headed to round two with a clear 10-9.
Round two had plenty of clinch work along the fence, with Moroz pressing for a takedown but ending up stalled. Ref Mike Beltran warned the pair to keep working; they would come off the fence, trade knees, and move back to center. Moroz then nearly caught a Wood kick; Wood landed an uppercut but a Moroz counter had more of an impact moment later.
Moroz then signaled a low blow, drawing a timeout call from the ref. She declined to take more than a few seconds to covered, however. Wood’s right hand started to come on later in the frame, and more importantly, she stayed upright throughout. Both women found a home for elbows throughout the round. In a clinch, Wood landed knees to the body, and after a fairly one-sided opening frame, things were much closer following ten minutes, with an explosive back-and-forth including a Wood backfist to close out the round.
The final five minutes or less of Joanne Wood’s career arrived with either a tie, or her down 20-18, depending on the judges. Wood needed to keep things standing; Moroz, conversely, had her best success on the mat and clearly wanted to go back there. Through the first two minutes, Wood kept things standing, and landed a smart front kick up high just past the two minute mark. Moroz landed another elbow, and even outside of her wheelhouse, the Ukrainian was keeping it a close fight.
The biggest moment of the fight came later in the third, and it was JoJo bringing fans to their feet. Wood executed a picture-perfect spinning back fist, landing hard with Moroz falling backwards, the fence catching her fall. Wood went on the attack, piling on with more offense and lighting Moroz up. She couldn’t put Maryna Moroz away, but the assault likely won her the round.
Official Result: Joanne Wood def. Maryna Moroz by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
