Rose Namajunas vs Zhang Weili rematch reportedly in the works

Rose Namajunas vs Zhang Weili rematch reportedly in the works

Zhang Weili and Rose Namajunas

It looks like Rose Namajunas and Zhang Weili might faceoff once again in a rematch. The pair last met at UFC 261, when Weili lost her women’s strawweight title in the very first round, to a ‘Thug Rose’ head kick. Although, Weili was straight away looking for a rematch, following her unfortunate loss, Namajunas wasn’t too interested in facing her again. However, now it looks like the pair might throwdown soon.

The news of the same came from the one and only Ariel Helwani. The famed reporter who now works for MMA Fighting and BT Sport, took to his Substack page to share some insights about fights in the making. He reported that the UFC was leaning towards a Namajunas-Weili rematch, while stating that a Carla Esparza-Namajunas fight would make more sense.

“Can’t help but feel for Carla Esparza”

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Helwani wrote on his Substack, “Speaking of fights they want for the fourth quarter of 2021, they are currently leaning towards Rose Namajunas vs. Zhang Weili 2 next. Very far from done, though. Still, can’t help but feel for Carla Esparza, who should be fighting for the strawweight belt next. That’s the fight, and it has an amazing backstory, too (remember, Esparza beat Namajunas in 2014 to win the inaugural 115-pound title.)” [via Ariel Helwani]

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Rose Namajunas and Zhang Weili haven’t fought since UFC 261. Weili, was particular about a rematch. The Chinese, in fact, took a while to accept that she had suffered a defeat. In an interview recently she claimed that she had lost focus after she saw Chris Weidman in the waiting room, with his leg snapped.

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Esparza, on the other hand, is on a five-match winning streak. She is undefeated since September 2018, and she is the one who famously beat Namajunas to win the inaugural UFC women’s strawweight title. If at all a rematch between the two happens, it will also give ‘Thug Rose’ the opportunity to exact revenge over Esparza.

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