When Zhang Weili and Joanna Jedrzejczyk last faced each other in the Octagon, the 25-minute clash proved to be one of the greatest fights in the history of UFC. Two years later, the two will run it back at Saturday's UFC 275 event in Singapore, and Zhang—who earned a narrow split-decision result in the first encounter—is hoping to give another memorable performance, even if the action plays out with a slightly different tone.
“I want to fight more strategically this time, but I also want it to be very exciting and maybe another Fight of the Year," Zhang tells MMA Underground through an interpreter.
In March 2020, China’s Zhang was still the UFC's reigning strawweight champion, while Poland's Jedrzejczyk was a former titleholder looking to regain her belt. “Joanna Champion” had a reputation as one of the sport's most technically proficient and downright vicious strikers during her title reign, and Zhang admits she wanted to send a message through her own performance that night at UFC 248.
