Karolina Kowalkiewicz (born 15 October 1985) is a Polish mixed martial artist. She currently fights for the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC). She is the former KSW Women's Flyweight Champion.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Kowalkiewicz began her mixed martial arts career at the age of sixteen when she began training in Krav Maga. She later trained in

Muay Thai Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...

and decided to make it a career. She fought two amateur fights before turning pro. Kowalkiewicz made her professional debut in her native Poland in May 2012. Over the next three-and-a-half years she amassed an undefeated record of seven wins against no losses. She fought primarily for the Poland-based KSW promotion - where she was the Flyweight champion - and also made her U.S. debut for Invicta FC in November 2014.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In late October 2015, it was announced that Kowalkiewicz had signed with the UFC. She faced

Randa Markos Randa Cemil Markos-Thomas (born August 10, 1985) is an Iraqi-born Canadian professional mixed martial artist who competes in the strawweight division. She most notably fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Personal life Markos was ...

on December 19, 2015 at

UFC on FOX 17 ''UFC on Fox: dos Anjos vs. Cowboy 2'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 17'') was a mixed martial arts event held on December 19, 2015, at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. Background The event was headlined by a UFC Lightweight Championship bout ...

. She was successful in her debut, winning the fight by unanimous decision. Kowalkiewicz next faced Heather Jo Clark on May 8, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 87 in Rotterdam, Netherlands. She won the fight via unanimous decision. Kowalkiewicz defeated

Rose Namajunas Rose Gertrude Namajunas (born June 29, 1992) is an American mixed martial artist. She is signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she competes in the women's strawweight division and is the former two-time UFC Women's Strawweig ...

by split decision on July 30, 2016 at

UFC 201 ''UFC 201: Lawler vs. Woodley'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 30, 2016, at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. Background This was the third event that the organization has hosted in Atl ...

to earn the next title shot at then-champion

Joanna Jędrzejczyk Joanna Jędrzejczyk (; born August 18, 1987) is a Polish former professional mixed martial artist and Muay Thai kickboxer. She has been called the greatest female strawweight mixed martial artist of all time, including by Daniel Cormier, who cred ...

. This performance earned her a Fight of the Night bonus Kowalkiewicz fought for the Strawweight title and lost to champion

by unanimous decision on November 12, 2016 at UFC 205. Kowalkiewicz faced

Cláudia Gadelha Ana Cláudia Dantas Gadelha (; born December 7, 1988), is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist who competed in the Women's Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of 2022, Gadelha works for the Ultimate Fightin ...

on June 3, 2017 in the co-main event at UFC 212. She lost the fight via submission due to a rear-naked choke in the first round. Kowalkiewicz faced Jodie Esquibel on October 21, 2017 at UFC Fight Night: Cerrone vs. Till. She won the fight by unanimous decision. Kowalkiewicz faced

Felice Herrig Felice Nicole Herrig (born September 18, 1984) is an American retired kickboxing, kickboxer, Muay Thai, Muay Thai fighter, and Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in the strawweight div ...

on April 7, 2018 at UFC 223. She won the fight by split decision. Kowalkiewicz fought Jéssica Andrade on September 8, 2018 at UFC 228. She lost the fight by knockout in the first round. Kowalkiewicz faced Michelle Waterson at

UFC on ESPN 2 ''UFC on ESPN: Barboza vs. Gaethje'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 2'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on March 30, 2019 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Backgr ...

on March 30, 2019. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. Kowalkiewicz faced Alexa Grasso on June 8, 2019 at

UFC 238 ''UFC 238: Cejudo vs. Moraes'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on June 8, 2019 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Background The event was headlined by a UFC Bantamweight Champi ...

. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. Kowalkiewicz faced

Yan Xiaonan Yan Xiaonan (born June 16, 1989) is a Chinese mixed martial artist (MMA). She currently competes in the Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of November 8, 2022, she is ranked #6 in the UFC women's strawweight ra ...

on February 23, 2020 at

UFC Fight Night 168 ''UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. Hooker'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 168'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 26'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 23, 2020, at Spark Arena in Auckland ...

. She lost the fight by unanimous decision. Kowalkiewicz faced

Jessica Penne Jessica Marie Penne (born January 30, 1983) is an American professional mixed martial artist. Penne currently competes in the Women's Strawweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She was the first Invicta FC Atomweight Cha ...

on August 7, 2021 at

UFC 265 ''UFC 265: Lewis vs. Gane'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on August 7, 2021, at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, United States. Background An interim UFC Heavyweight Championshi ...

. She lost the fight via an armbar in round one. After a one-year hiatus, Kowalkiewicz faced

on June 4, 2022, at

UFC Fight Night 207 ''UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Rozenstruik'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 207'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 65'' or ''UFC Vegas 56'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on June 4, 2022, at the ...

. Kowalkiewicz snapped a 5 bout losing streak, submitting Herrig via rear-naked choke in the second round. Kowalkiewicz faced

Silvana Gómez Juárez Silvana Gómez Juárez (born December 6, 1984) is an Argentinian mixed martial artist who competes in the Strawweight division. She has previously competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Gómez Juárez started training kung f ...

on November 12, 2022, at UFC 281. She won the fight via unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** Fight of the Night (One time) * Invicta Fighting Championships ** Fight of the Night (One time) * Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki ** KSW Flyweight Championship (One title defense) **Fight of the Night (One time)

Personal life

In 2019, Kowalkiewicz was diagnosed with

Hashimoto's disease Hashimoto's thyroiditis, also known as chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis and Hashimoto's disease, is an autoimmune disease in which the thyroid gland is gradually destroyed. Early on, symptoms may not be noticed. Over time, the thyroid may enla ...

. To cope with the symptoms Kowalkiewicz now works with an endocrinologist and has adopted a vegan diet.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 14–7 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC 281 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, Submission (armbar) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:32 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–6 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. Hooker , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–4 , Michelle Waterson , Decision (unanimous) , UFC on ESPN: Barboza vs. Gaethje , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–3 , Jéssica Andrade , KO (punch) , UFC 228 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:58 ,

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–2 ,

, Decision (split) , UFC 223 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 , Jodie Esquibel , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Till , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

, Poland , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–2 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC 212 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:03 ,

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC 205 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–0 ,

, Decision (split) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–0 , Heather Jo Clark , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Arlovski , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

, Netherlands , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC on Fox: dos Anjos vs. Cowboy 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center , 7–0 , Kalindra Faria , Decision (split) , KSW 30 , , align=center , 3 , align=center , 5:00 ,

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center , 6–0 , Mizuki Inoue , Decision (split) , Invicta FC 9: Honchak vs. Hashi , , align=center , 3 , align=center , 5:00 ,

Davenport, Iowa Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center , 5–0 ,

Jasminka Cive Jasminka Cive (born ) is an Austrian female kickboxer and mixed martial artist, based in Austria. She competes professionally since 2005 and is the current ISKA Flyweight champion and mixed martial artist. Biography Born in Serbia, Jasminka C ...

, Submission (armbar) , KSW 27 , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 3:53 ,

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center , 4–0 ,

Simona Soukupova Simona Soukupova is a Czech mixed martial artist who competes at Invicta FC in the Atomweight division and has fought 3 times for the organization. Mixed martial arts record , - , Loss , align=center, 6–6–1 , Svetlana Gotsyk , Decision (sp ...

, Decision (unanimous) , KSW 24 , , align=center , 3 , align=center , 5:00 ,

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center , 3–0 , Marta Chojnoska , Submission (rear-naked choke) , KSW 23 , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 1:11 ,

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center , 2–0 , Paulina Bońkowska , Decision (unanimous) , KSW 21 , , align=center , 3 , align=center , 5:00 ,

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center , 1–0 , Marzena Wojas , TKO (punches) , Extreme Fighting Sports 2 , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 3:12 , Gdynia, Poland , , -

Amateur mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 0–1 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , Amatorska Liga MMA 18 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:18 , Sochaczew, Poland , , -

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kowalkiewicz, Karolina 1985 births Living people Sportspeople from Łódź Polish female mixed martial artists Strawweight mixed martial artists Flyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing Krav Maga Ultimate Fighting Championship female fighters Polish Muay Thai practitioners Female Muay Thai practitioners