Zhang Weili is still affected by Rose Namajunas’ comments earlier this year. Ahead of her UFC 261 championship fight against Zhang Weili in April, this year, Namajunas made an anti-communist remark – “better dead than red.” Being a Lithuanian-American, these comments meant nothing to Namajunas, however, Weili was enraged since red meant communism, mainly because she was from China.
The fight went ahead, and Rose Namajunas ended up winning the fight with a head kick KO in the very first round. ‘Thug Rose’ also became the champion in the process, getting hold of the women’s strawweight title for the second time. Now the pair are set to rematch once again.
In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting, Zhang Weili said (with the help of a translator) that, Namajunas’ comments perfectly worked in her (Rose’s) favour in getting the audience to boo her. She also made it clear that it was not a good idea to mix sports with politics.
“I think it is not a good thing to mix sport with politics” – Zhang Weili
Weili was quoted as saying (translator), “The comments that Rose made, I think she was successful in making the audience boo me. But I think that’s my own problem because I should be concentrating on the fight and not the audience. I can’t control who the audience likes. So I’m becoming more focused on my own fight.
She continued, “In my mind, I think that, yes, those comments crossed the line because I think all the audience, all the fighters, we all come together in the UFC because we all share the passion of the MMA sport. In my mind, I’m coming here because I want to make friends because we all have the common love of martial arts. I think it’s not a good thing to mix sport with politics, but I think that’s maybe her plan.” [via MMA Fighting]
The pair are now set to square off once again in a rematch. The event is set to take place at UFC 268 on the 6th of November at the Madison Square Garden. Unlike the main event that night, which will feature Kamaru Usman vs Colby Covington, the rematch between Rose and Weili is an immediate one.
Rose Namajunas plays piano for the Schmo
Rose Namajunas’ family is rich in musical background. Her mother is a pianist, and likewise, Namajunas was recently seen playing the piano ahead of an interview with MMA Journalist and YouTuber ‘The Schmo.’ And that was when ‘The Schmo’ reminded Namajunas that she had made it to number 3 in the women’s pound-for-pound rankings.
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