The bar is set impossibly high for Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Zhang Weili going into their rematch at UFC 275.
No matter what Jedrzejczyk (16-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) and Weili (21-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) do inside the octagon at the June 11 event in Singapore, there’s little chance it can match the chaos and drama of their original Fight of the Year in March 2020 widely regarded as the greatest female fight in MMA history.
The grueling five-round battle saw Weili come out the winner by split decision, while Jedrzejczyk left the octagon with a hematoma on her forehead that was a horrifying visual. More than two years later, they are set to run it back. And although Jedrzejczyk thought she won the first fight, she knows she can’t take the same approach if she wants to ensure victory in her second chance.
“I need to be a bit smarter,” Jedrzejczyk told MMA Junkie on a recent UFC 275 conference call. “I’m going to come back. I’m very happy to get my second fight with Weili Zhang and go for the belt right after. Last fight was very close, and the decision could go either way. I felt like I did enough in the first fight. She was the champ at that time, so sometimes you have to do more to beat the champion. But I feel like I gave all I had in Vegas in March 2020, so we’re working on some things. We’re sharpening some tools.”
Jedrzejczyk hasn’t seen action since she fought Weili at UFC 248, which was the final pay-per-view event for the UFC prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The former longtime UFC strawweight champion said repeatedly during the pandemic that she didn’t want to fight without fans, and she also wanted a better contract to continue fighting.
The promotion ticked all the boxes in giving her the fight at Singapore Indoor Stadium, which will air on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+, and additionally she received a new UFC deal and the chance to avenge a loss.
It’s high stakes, too, after UFC president Dana White said the Jedrzejczyk vs. Weili 2 winner is likely to get first crack at newly minted 115-pound champ Carla Esparza.
For Jedrzejczyk, all that is music to her ears.
“I just have to stay calm, be smarter, bring all my tools to the octagon, and I will win,” she said. “I will get this victory and go for the belt right after.”
Joanna Jedrzejczyk: ‘I need to be a bit smarter’ in Zhang Weili rematch at UFC 275