ex-Invicta Fighting Championships queen Jillian
DeCoursey made them count.
On her social media on Thursday, DeCoursey announced her
retirement from MMA competition. The 41-year-old atomweight had
flirted with returning after dropping her belt in 2023 to Rayanne
dos Santos, but efforts never materialized. A veteran of only
Invicta and Cage Warriors Fighting Championship for the
entirety of her pro career, she won a belt with the former and
unsuccessfully vied for one with the latter.
First stepping into the cage as an amateur in 2014, the New York
native rattled off eight nonprofessional victories opposite a
single defeat. Along the unpaid circuit, DeCoursey battled future
talents like Hilarie
Rose, Marisa
Messer-Belenchia and Lindsey
VanZandt, beating all three. After taking a decision for an
amateur belt in 2017, DeCoursey turned pro.
Might Make ‘Fill in the Blank’ My New Fight Name
The fighter known by many fight names including “Jilly Bean,”
“Lionheart” and jokingly by ones like “Cool
American” and “Medium
Rare and Pepper Crusted” won her first two outings on the
Invicta FC cage. The then-unbeaten athlete faced off against future
champ Alesha
Zappitella in 2018. A pattern emerged for the remainder of her
career, where she would win two and then lose the next match.
In a jaunt to 115 pounds in 2020, DeCoursey faced off against
future Ultimate Fighting Championship athlete Elise Reed
and dropped a decision after four rounds of combat for the CFFC
throne. The Long Island MMA fighter proceeded to return to the
confines of the Invicta cage after a layoff of over 18 months.
Everything came to a head when DeCoursey punched out former foe
VanZandt in 61 seconds at Invicta FC 47 in 2022. This placed the
atomweight in contention for a championship opportunity, and she
won it four-plus months later by tapping Jessica
Delboni to account for her sole submission victory as a pro.
This career-changing triumph vaulted DeCoursey into the top five in
her division on Sherdog’s Official Rankings. Her first defense
the following year did not go her way, as dos Santos outworked her
and busted her up across five fairly one-sided rounds in what will
go down as DeCoursey’s final match.
DeCoursey’s full statement reads as follows:
“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, 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.
“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 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.”
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… pic.twitter.com/PCpCStIQUN— Jillian
DeCoursey (@lionheartjill)
January 22, 2026