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Jeremy Lin says Zhang Weili ‘should win’ as UFC 268 rules Chinese social media

  • Ex-NBA star scores Rose Namajunas rematch 48-47 to ‘Magnum’ while Tokyo 2020 karate medallist Gong Li calls her ‘hero’
  • ‘UFC 268’ clocks up 120 million reads while rematch topic sees 250 million views on Weibo, as boxer Xu Can calls for trilogy fight

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Rose Namajunas punches Zhang Weili in their strawweight title bout at UFC 268. Photo: AFP
Zhang Weili’s split decision defeat by Rose Namajunas in their rematch for the strawweight title at UFC 268 dominated Chinese social media on Sunday, with hundreds of millions of reads on Weibo.
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Former NBA star Jeremy Lin, who is back with the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association, was among those to show support for the former UFC champion after her close loss in New York.

“You are great! I personally think you should win 48-47 but I am not a referee,” Lin wrote in Chinese on his Weibo account.

“As an athlete, I know that everyone will have too many ideas, suggestions, and judgments from the outside. I can‘t say that I fully understand your training so hard and didn’t see the results you want to see, but I am very proud of you. You always support,” he added before ending his message with “Hold your head High!” in English.

Rose Namajunas takes a punch from Zhang Weili at UFC 268. Photo: Ed Mulholland/USA Today Sports
Rose Namajunas takes a punch from Zhang Weili at UFC 268. Photo: Ed Mulholland/USA Today Sports
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Lin was among the Weibo users to use the hashtag “Zhang Weili regret lost” which had some 8.3 million reads.

The topic was dwarfed by the “UFC 268” hashtag – which clocked up 120 million reads by Sunday afternoon – and “Zhang Weili and Rose Second World War”, which had been read more than 250 million times on Weibo.

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