UFC women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang has mostly been out of the news cycle since defending her title against Joanna Jedrzejczyk in March this year, but that has finally changed after her jiu-jitsu coach Pedro Jordao shared updates with MMA Fighting.
Jordao mentioned that Zhang is currently preparing to face Rose Namajunas in the first quarter of next year.
“It appears that her next fight will be against Rose, but nothing is set yet. Everything indicates that’s the plan — and it makes sense, everybody knows that,” he told MMA Fighting.
It’s been a long time since we’ve heard updates regarding China’s first UFC champion, so here’s how The Body Lock’s Patrick Auger, Matthew Wells, and Drake Riggs reacted.
Riggs commented that he doesn’t believe the fight with Namajunas is the one to make right now. He mentions that Yan Xiaonan and Carla Esparza are more deserving challengers, but the Yan fight would almost certainly need to happen in China, adding a unique challenge considering COVID-19’s impact on the promotion, in particular.
But Wells and Auger are big fans of the matchup and think that it’s the way to go. Wells mentions that Namajunas is a name that many fans are familiar with and it’s the right choice for the UFC to book Zhang vs. Namajunas. Auger is excited for the fight, reminding fans that when Rose is switched on , she’s looked amazing in recent years. It should make for a brilliant title fight.
Are you looking forward to this title fight? Who do you think will win? Let us know in the comment section below.
The money fight is Rose vs. Weili, or at least it will be until Yan & Weili can face off in China. Assuming Rose vs. Weili happens in the first quarter of 2021, that’s the fight to make. We’ve heard nothing from Rose or her camp. If it turns out they want to take longer, then I’d be for Weili vs. JJ, Yan or Carla in that order, but for me the prime determinant would be who can fight her soonest.