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SHENZHEN, CHINA – AUGUST 31: Zhang Weili of China prepares to fight Jessica Andrade of Brazil in their UFC strawweight championship bout during the UFC Fight Night event at Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre on August 31, 2019 in Shenzhen, China. (Photo by Brandon Magnus/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC)|GettyImages
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SHENZHEN, CHINA – AUGUST 31: Zhang Weili of China prepares to fight Jessica Andrade of Brazil in their UFC strawweight championship bout during the UFC Fight Night event at Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre on August 31, 2019 in Shenzhen, China. (Photo by Brandon Magnus/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC)|GettyImages
The UFC women’s strawweight division is stacked with talent. The likes of Rose Namajunas, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, are all extremely tough fights for the champion Weili Zhang who won her belt against Jessica Andrade in August 2019. She is set to make her second title defense in 2021.
Weili Zhang is undefeated in seven years and is yet to lose a fight in the UFC. She is an incredibly well rounded martial artist and was the first UFC champion from China. According to recent reports, Zhang will take on former champion Rose Namajunas early next year.
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Read: Dana White says Weili Zhang will fight Rose Namajunas next- reveals potential date
Weili Zhang’s coach gives his thoughts on who should be next for ‘Magnum’
In a recent interview, Zhang’s Jiu-Jitsu coach Pedro Jordao, gave his thoughts on who should be next for Weili. He said, “We’ll see how things go with this virus. But I think (the fight) will probably be in the first quarter. … We’re training for a while here. 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.”
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SHENZHEN, CHINA – AUGUST 31: Zhang Weili of China celebrates after her victory over Jessica Andrade in their UFC strawweight championship bout during the UFC Fight Night event at Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre on August 31, 2019 in Shenzhen, China. (Photo by Zhe Ji/Getty Images)
Jordao continued, “She’s another tough opponent. I think Rose is more technical (than Zhang’s previous opponents), more calm, and very talented. It’s time to test that. I know she’s probably training really hard, but I think it’s a good match-up for Weili Zhang style-wise. People say she’s is very strong, very strong, but we’ve seen how technical she is, too. I trust Weili and think she will be able to defeat Rose”
Zhang last fought in March this year when she secured a split decision win over a former champion, Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
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SHENZHEN, CHINA – AUGUST 31: Zhang Weili of China celebrates after her knockout victory over Jessica Andrade of Brazil in their UFC strawweight championship bout during the UFC Fight Night event at Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre on August 31, 2019 in Shenzhen, China. (Photo by Brandon Magnus/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC)
Rose Namajunas avenged her title loss by earning an impressive split decision over Andrade at UFC 251. She will hope to carry this momentum forward and become the champion once again. However, it will difficult given the form that Zhang is in.
What do you make of the matchup between Weili Zhang and Rose Namajunas? Can Rose dethrone Zhang and become the champion again? Let us know in the comments below
