Jillian DeCoursey was once arguably the best women’s atomweight fighter on the planet. As of Thursday, she’s officially retired.
“Lionheart” announced the news on multiple social media platforms, posting an extended, heartfelt message on Twitter/X, where she frequently interacts with fans.
I have rewritten this a bunch of times. I will try and keep this short, I don’t know if I’ll be successful.
For those who haven’t seen my post on other social media, I wanted to write a separate one here.
I started fighting simply because it looked fun. At that time I had no goals. As my amateur career continued I hoped to one day fight for Invicta Fights, the best promotion for women’s MMA, but that felt unattainable. I didn’t see myself at that level. But my career was made out of doing things that I wasn’t supposed to be able to do. I became the Invicta atomweight champion, I got to fight my entire Pro career for only two promotions, and they are two of the best promotions, Invicta and CFFC MMA.
I’ve achieved more than I ever thought possible. And I did it without compromising my morals and beliefs. It was always done my way. But now it’s time for the next chapter in my life. So I am officially retired. I love fighting. I love teaching fighting. I love watching fighting. I can still teach it and watch it and that’s good enough for me at this point. At some point in my career, a lot of people on here started to really get behind me. I didn’t know why and I still don’t know why, but it means everything to me. When I won that title, we won that title. Some people hate me and that’s OK too. We get to like and hate who we like and even if you hate me, thank you for watching me, even if you were rooting against me.
This isn’t goodbye. This is the most beautiful sport in the world, and I can never leave it. I’m working on something that is gonna let me stay involved in the sport as long as I want to. It’s just gonna take a little time to put it together.
But I’m still gonna be here every day, still live tweeting about fights or talking about the sport. I’m still gonna advocate for women in the sport, I’m still available anytime any young fighter needs advice, and I’m still gonna be outspoken, probably more so now.
All I ever wanted was to be a good representative for the sport, be a good influence on young women in the sport, and maybe leave the sport at at least one percent better than it was when I got into it. I hope I’ve done that.
My career is what it is. Everyone can form their own opinions on what it is, but I am damn proud of it. I made a career out of doing what I was told I couldn’t do.
I always say that I don’t have fans, I have supporters, I have Team Lionheart. We did this together because so many of you spoke so loud. You pushed for me to get that title shot. That will always be appreciated and always be remembered.
I’m not popular, I’m not famous, I go to the store and nobody knows who I am. But I do have this little group of supporters that is also the best group of supporters that anyone could have.
Thank you and from the bottom of my heart, I love you all.
DeCoursey, 41, is a New York native who got her start in MMA as a professional back in 2017. Despite being something of a latecomer in terms of making the move to fighting pro (she’d debuted as an amateur several years earlier), the feisty 105lb’er won her first two bouts, both under the Invicta FC banner, before dropping two more.
She’d then move to Cage Fury FC, a frequent feeder promotion for the UFC, winning a bout, then won another for Invicta before challenging future UFC fighter Elise Reed for the CFFC strawweight title.
Falling short, DeCoursey would return to Invicta, return to atomweight, and win her next fight, before claiming the Invicta FC atomweight championship in 2022 with a submission victory over Jessica Delboni.
Thanks to her willingness to engage with fans online and fun personality, DeCoursey became a fan favorite, which didn’t seem to change much after she lost her atomweight belt to Rayanne dos Santos the following year.
DeCoursey also held multiple titles as an amateur.
