UFC ‘leaning towards’ Rose Namajunas vs Zhang Weili rematch, champ back in training camp
- Strawweight title rematch is reportedly in the works for the fourth quarter of 2021
- American Namajunas begins preparations for first defence after beating China’s Zhang in July
UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas is set to grant Zhang Weili’s desire for an immediate rematch, with the bout reportedly in the works.
The promotion has not confirmed the fight, but according to MMA journalist Ariel Helwani it is being targeted for the fourth quarter of 2021.
Former ESPN reporter Helwani, now of MMA Fighting and BT Sport, wrote in a Substack post that the UFC is “leaning towards” the rematch, but that it is “very far from done”.
“Thug Rose” is certainly preparing to make the first title defence of her second reign as champ – she began her training camp on Wednesday, according to an Instagram post from her management, Sucker Punch Entertainment.
The post showed a video of the 29-year-old Lithuanian-American (10-4) hitting pads with head trainer Trevor Wittman, accompanied by the text, “So this is day 1 of camp”.
Namajunas claimed the strawweight belt from China’s Zhang (21-2) via a stunning first-round head kick at UFC 261 in Jacksonville, Florida – the first event back in front of a full crowd in the US since the start of the pandemic.
The 32-year-old Zhang protested the referee’s stoppage, and called for an immediate rematch after the April 24 loss at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.
Third-ranked Carla Esparza (18-6) had seemingly thrown her name into the hat for the next shot against Namajunas with a dominant second-round TKO of Zhang’s compatriot, Yan Xiaonan. (13-2) in May.
Mexican-American Esparza also beat Namajunas via third-round rear-naked choke on The Ultimate Fighter season 20 finale in December 2014 to become the inaugural strawweight champion.
“The Cookie Monster” lost the title to Poland’s Joanna Jedrzejczyk (16-4) in her first defence, however, and then suffered defeat in three of her next six fights.
But Esparza has rebounded with a five-fight win streak to put herself firmly back in title contention, and had also been preparing to fight “Magnum” Zhang at UFC 261 before Namajunas accepted the fight.
