UFC275: Comparing the first fight between Zhang Weili and Joanna Jedrzejczyk to the rematch
The highly anticipated rematch of the greatest Women's fight in combat sports history is upon us as Zhang Weili welcomes back Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 275 in Kallang, Singapore at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. This pay-per-view is headlined by Glover Teixeira as he takes on Jiří Procházka for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. The co-main event features the Women's Flyweight Champion and the women's number one pound-for-pound fighter, Valentina Shevchenko, as she goes for her 7th straight title defense against Taila Santos.
With the rematch between Weili and Jedrzejczyk happening at UFC 275, a lot has happened between their first fight and the rematch. Let's take a look into both of their paths.
Weili Zhang's Path
In March of 2020, Weili was preparing for her first-ever title defense at UFC 248 against Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Weili had just become the Strawweight Champion as she finished Jéssica Andrade by 1st round TKO. Weili was on a 20-fight winning streak and having and had momentum in her favor. On the flip side, that wasn't the case for Jedrzejczyk.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk's Path
Jedrzejczyk had previously become the Strawweight Champion in March of 2015 when she finished Carla Esparza by TKO at UFC 185. After becoming Champion, Jedrzejczyk successfully defended her title 5x. She defeated contenders like Jessica Penne, Karolina Kowalkiewicz, Jessica Andrade, and more.
Jedrzejczyk would have her 14 fight undefeated streak snapped by Rose Namajunas at UFC 217, losing the fight by TKO. It was the first loss she had suffered in her professional career.
Jedrzejczyk would get an immediate rematch with Namajunas at UFC 223 as but fell short, losing the fight by decision. After earning a win against Tecia Torres, Jedrzejczyk moved up a division to challenge Valentina Shevchenko for the Flyweight Title at UFC 231 but did so unsuccessfully. Jedrzejczyk would go on to make her return back to the Strawweight division in 2019, when she defeated Michelle Waterson in the main event by decision. After the dominating win, she earned herself another title shot and this time it would be against Weili at UFC 248.
Weili vs. Jedrzejczyk 1
It was a historic night for mixed martial arts, as Zhang Weili and Joanna Jedrzejczyk went on to compete in a fight that's widely considered the greatest fight in Women's combat sports history. It might be the greatest fight in history, period. It was a closely contested fight that resulted in a split decision win for Zhang Weili. Many still contest the decision, as they belive Jedrzejczyk won the fight.
Going into the Rematch
After their first fight, Jedrzejczyk has been away from the sport for two years. She took a mental break and looks to come back stronger. Jedrzejczyk is back training with head coach Mike Brown and American Top Team to prepare for Weili and make another run at the Strawweight title. Assuming that her fight camp went well, in terms of injuries, Jedrzejczyk should be the fresher fighter. She hasn't fought in over two years so she shouldn't have any lingering injuries a fighter would have that is more active, like Weili.
Weili will be coming into this fight as the more active fighter, which can play to her advantage. She has fought twice since defeating Jedrzejczyk. Both of those fights were losses against Rose Namajunas. It's important to note that Weili has taken some damage in these fights. The first fight against Namajunas at UFC 261 was a knockout loss followed by losing a decision in the rematch.
It'll be interesting to see if the inactivity of Jedrzejczyk plays a factor in the rematch. Jedrzejczyk has a tenacious striking attack and strong muay thai that caused problems for Weili in the first fight. When throwing her combinations, Jedrzejczyk consistently throws a leg kick at the end. That is what damaged the lead leg of Weili early in the last fight, but Weili prevailed. She continued to throw powerful, clean straight shots that landed at a high rate and will look to do the same at UFC 275. With the amount of damage Weili has absorbed as of late, the rematch can look drastically different if Weili engages in those heated exchanges with Jedrzejczyk again.
When they meet again in Singapore for UFC 275, the stakes and the fight itself will be different. This will be a 3 round fight opposed to a 5 round fight. The confidence of the Verdict Community has always shifted heading into the rematch. Whereas 64.5% predicted Weili to win the first fight, that number has dropped to 53.9% heading into the rematch.
The winner of this fight will likely be the next challenger for Carla Esparza's Strawweight title. Weili vs. Jedrzejczyk 2 is upon us.
