D. White at a UFC press conference. Photo: Reproduction/YouTube UFC
The UFC board may be close to announcing the new challenger for the UFC title Weili Zhang, current straw champion (up to 52,1kg.). After hitting Jessica Andrade in her last challenge and place herself at the top of the category, the Chinese could face the former owner of the belt, Joanna Jędrzejczyk, who is coming off a convincing victory over Michelle Waterson. The meeting between the Polish woman and Weili pleases the company's 'boss', Dana White, who, on her Instagram account.
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“This is going to be a really fun fight,” White wrote.
The president's sentence came in response to a challenge recently made by Joanna, who said she would face the champion anywhere. The important thing is to try to recover the title lost in 2017, after being beaten by Rose namajunas.
“Anywhere and anytime. Bangkok, Sri Lanka, Warsaw, Toronto; it doesn't matter. I’m going to China to crush it”, published Joanna.
After the Polish woman's sentence, it didn't take long for Zhang to go to social media and respond to the former champion. The Chinese woman stated that she is ready to calm Jędrzejczyk's spirits.
“She seems very angry. Do not worry. She will calm down. I'm ready now. Call my manager or Dana White. I’m ready”, wrote the champion.
By defeating ‘Bate-Estaca’ with a devastating knockout in the first round, in a fight that represented the main event of UFC Shenzhen, Zhang made history by becoming the first athlete from China to hold a UFC title. The athlete's victory ended up being crucial for the company, which was looking to expand its business to the Asian continent.
At 30 years old, Weili was defeated only once in her career, in her debut as a professional athlete, in 2013. The fighter, however, managed to recover and was no longer beaten after the incident. Since the setback, there have been 20 presentations, all with victories.
Joanna, in turn, has just recovered from a complicated phase within Ultimate. The athlete, who was beaten twice in a row by Namajunas, tried, unsuccessfully, to win the flyweight belt (up to 56,7kg.), when she moved up a division to compete for the vacant title against Valentina Shevchenko.
Before facing Waterson, in the main fight of UFC Tampa, the Polish had three defeats in the last four appearances. However, against Michelle, Jędrzejczyk showed MMA fans that she still has what it takes to perform at a high level to the point of becoming the category's new challenger.
At 32 years old, Joanna has 19 fights, with 16 wins and three losses in professional MMA.
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