President's Choice: Zhang Weili vs Joanna Jędrzejczyk
In honor of President's Day, we take a look back at some of the latest and greatest UFC moments, chosen by UFC president Dana White.
In honor of President's Day, we take a look back at some of the latest and greatest UFC moments, chosen by UFC president Dana White.
Leading up to UFC 248, Dana White let it be known the fight he was most looking forward to wasn’t the headliner between Israel Adesanya and Yoel Romero, but instead the strawweight title fight set in the co-main between then-champion Zhang Weili and former strawweight queen Joanna Jędrzejczyk. The two ended up delivering one of the best fights in the sport’s history and emphatically the best fight in the history of women’s MMA.
Almost poetically, an announcement that Jon Jones’ legendary title defense against Alexander Gustafsson was getting inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame preceded the fight, so the building was buzzing off the nostalgia of one of the sport’s greatest fights.
When Zhang and Jędrzejczyk threw down, they immediately went to work at a pace that wouldn’t wane for the entire 25 minutes of action. Every time they entered the pocket, each woman threw flurries with a ferocity and quickness that was breathtaking. At first, Jędrzejczyk had the upper hand and leaned on her vast title fight experience. But when it seemed like Zhang was fading midway through the fight, China’s first champion showed the resolve you want to see from a titleholder. Zhang continuously landed the heavier and more significant shots, shown most notably by extreme swelling on Jędrzejczyk’s forehead.
From start-to-finish, the women put on a high-level battle that displayed their heart and technical prowess, and all anyone could do at the end was stand and cheer them in thanks for their efforts. The result was razor close, as the judges gave Zhang the split decision nod. The bout was the last time Jędrzejczyk has competed, and Zhang went on to lose a pair of fights to Rose Namajunas, but fight fans everywhere are eagerly awaiting a potential rematch between 2020’s Fight of the Year.
