W. Zhang (photo) in victory for the UFC. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook @ufc
Ultimate may be close to announcing its first commitment Weili Zhang, since the Chinese took over the position of straw champion (up to 52,1kg.), in August. The athlete must face the former number one in the division, Joanna Jędrzejczyk in the UFC 248, which takes place in Las Vegas (USA), on March 7th. The information was released by 'MMA Fighting'.
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After making history in the UFC, by becoming the first athlete from China to hold a UFC title, Zhang will have another tough challenge ahead of her. The executioner of Jessica Andrade will have the duty to interrupt Joanna's good phase and show that she is, in fact, capable of maintaining her recent reign and preventing the Polish woman from regaining her title, lost in 2017.
Weili arrived in Ultimate without making much noise. Debuting for the organization in August 2018, however, the athlete, after three convincing results, received the opportunity to challenge 'Bate Estaca', who had become champion for the company in May, when she defeated Rose namajunas on a card that took place in Rio de Janeiro, at UFC 237.
While the champion will not have an easy task, the same statement can be transferred to Jędrzejczyk. The Polish woman went through a complicated period within the organization, when, in four fights, she managed to score just one victory.
Joanna, however, once again pleased the eyes of the Ultimate board after achieving a great victory over Michelle Waterson, in the main fight of the UFC Tampa, held in October this year. On that occasion, the Polish woman managed to show her good form and, after five rounds of total dominance, she was declared the winner over the North American in a unanimous decision by the judges.
Soon after the positive result, the Pole, still in the octagon, made a point of challenging Weili for a future confrontation.
A clash between the champion and Jędrzejczyk ended up becoming imminent due to the two exchanging barbs through the press and social media. The provocations 'caught the eye' of Dana White, who saw the audience of the fight as an opportunity to negotiate a duel between the athletes.
Today, Zhang, 30, has 21 appearances, with 20 wins. The Chinese hasn't known what it's like to lose for more than six years, when she was beaten in her professional MMA debut.
Joanna, 32, suffered her first defeat when she lost her title to Namajunas and, shortly afterwards, suffered her second setback, in a rematch against the American. Jędrzejczyk was unsuccessful when he tried to move up a division to compete for the vacant flyweight title (up to 56,7kg), as he traded forces against Valentina Shevchenko. In total, the Pole has 19 appearances, with 16 wins and three losses.
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