The first time Zhang Weili and Joanna Jedrzejczyk shared the Octagon, the strawweight standouts combined to deliver one of the absolute best fights in UFC history. Saturday night, they’re set to run it back.
After pushing her winning streak to 21 with her split decision victory over Jedrzejczyk in their iconic first meeting, Zhang enters Saturday’s rematch on the first two-fight skid of her career, having dropped consecutive championship fights to Rose Namajunas last year. The Chinese standout responded to being knocked out by pushing Namajunas to her limit in the second meeting, and will look to maintain her position in the championship queue by handing Jedrzejczyk a second consecutive defeat.
Watch Weili And Jedrzjczyk’s Epic 1st Fight Free
“Joanna Champion” hasn’t fought since her last meeting with Zhang, and arrives in Singapore having lost four of her last six appearances. While each of those losses came in championship fights against elite competitors, it’s still jarring to recall that Jedrzejczyk has just two victories since registering her fifth consecutive successful title defense with a unanimous decision win over Jessica Andrade at UFC 211… five years ago.
Expecting these two to deliver a fight that measures up to their initial encounter is asking a great deal — that fight was incredible in many ways and had the benefit of being a five-round affair, while Saturday’s second meeting is a three-round fight. That said, there is something about the dynamic between these two former champions that seems to be designed to draw out the best from each of them, so while a Hall of Fame-level fight might not be in the cards, a Fight of the Night contender is very much on the table.
