Scottish UFC fighter Joanne Wood hung up her gloves at UFC 299 tonight. Wood, who is a TUF alum and has been at the UFC for almost a decade, went out with a solid comeback win against Maryna Moroz and ended her career on a happy note. During her post-fight press conference, she announced her retirement plans as well. Wood is a happy wife who would like to continue being involved in MMA.
The women’s flyweight fight between Wood and Moroz was the opening fight for the UFC 299 early prelims card. It was a tough start for the Scottish fighter as the Ukrainian was all over her in the first round. Wood was on her back for most of the first round with Moroz taking a 10-9 into the second round.
Going into the last 10 minutes of her MMA career, Wood was in need of two winning rounds or a finish. She fought tactically and stayed on her feet. Moroz tried her best to take Wood down to the canvas where she was dominating but Wood did not let that happen. Each fighter struck significant blows but could not put each other away.
One of the cleanest spinning backfists you’ll ever see courtesy of Joanne Wood in her retirement fight #UFC299 pic.twitter.com/6qMv4UpVBQ
— Steven Rae (@stevenrae_) March 9, 2024
The third and final round asked for something special from the Scotswoman. Wood went out and delivered. After a close fight in the third round, Wood delivered a picture-perfect spinning back fist. It caught Moroz and she fell backwards onto the cage. Wood tried to finish her off but could not complete the KO.
The bout went to a decision. Wood got the better of Moroz via split decision 28-29, 29-28, and 29-28. The pair had gone at it once before in April 2015 early in their UFC careers. Moroz had won that bout via submission in the first round. Wood got her hard-earned revenge.
Joanne Wood goes out with gratitude for the UFC and everyone involved
Joanne Wood’s final post-fight Octagon interview was taken by none other than Joe Rogan. He expressed how impressive her spinning back fist in the final round was. A jovial Wood claimed, “I could’ve done that in the first and it would’ve been different!”
“I could’ve done that in the first and it would’ve been different!” 😅
💙🏴 Happy trails to one of Scotland’s finest, the mighty Joanne Wood @DrKneevil! #UFC299 pic.twitter.com/nSTFnl6Auf
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) March 9, 2024
She thanked everyone involved in her successful MMA career and said, “Thank you to all the UFC staff, past and present. I love you guys, and thank you to everyone involved.”
The 38-year-old is “sure” of her retirement and does not plan on making a return like many other fighters. However, she hesitated when she was asked about what she plans on doing if UFC comes to Scotland. About what people would remember about her, she said, “My one motto was always never give up and you don’t have to be loud to be heard.”
Further, she opened up about her retirement plan. She said, “Luckily, I married a head coach who has a gym so that’s my retirement. Gonna take over the gym,” she laughed and continued, “No, gonna help him with the team, with the gym…” Wood is married to Syndicate MMA head coach John Wood. After getting engaged in October 2019, the pair got married in October 2021. Joanne also shared the news about getting her own house.
She claimed that she would still be involved in martial arts but would not be competing in pro-MMA fights. Wood, who has a rich history in professional kickboxing as well, went out with a pro-MMA record of 17-8. In the UFC, her record was 8-8.