UFC 268: Zhang Weili ‘looking forward’ to Rose Namajunas trilogy – ‘I believe I’ll get my belt back’
- China’s Zhang lost a split decision to Namajunas in co-main event in New York City
- Now 0-2 against the American ‘Thug’, former champ forecasts third fight and vows to reclaim strawweight title
Chinese mixed martial arts superstar Zhang Weili suffered a second consecutive loss to Rose Namajunas at UFC 268, but she will not stop in her quest to reclaim the strawweight title.
Zhang (21-3) challenged American champion Namajunas (11-4) in Saturday night’s co-main event inside the famed Madison Square Garden in New York City. The bout was an immediate rematch, after Namajunas swiped the title from “Magnum” with a first-round head kick knockout at UFC 261 in April.
This time it was a back-and-forth affair that required all five rounds to settle. Unfortunately for Zhang, who landed 162 significant strikes and completed five of 11 takedown attempts, two of three cage-side judges were more impressed by Namajunas, who hit her mark on 130 significant strikes and used two takedowns to rack up a significant seven minutes of control time.
It was a devastating outcome for Zhang, but she seemed in good spirits nonetheless at the post-event press conference.
“I feel very good, but it’s a shame I did not win the fight,” Zhang said through her translator. “I think the overall game plan worked well. I just think maybe I did 60 or 70 per cent of what I could do. I feel sorry for my coaches because they have done a tremendous job for me in this training camp.”
Zhang said she intends to return to China, and once she has healed up, she’ll begin fielding fight offers from the UFC, and then start planning a return to Fight Ready in Scottsdale, Arizona, where she did the bulk of her training for UFC 268.
