Dana White has provided an update on Weili Zhang’s next fight, specifically the possible opponent and location.
Dana White has not given up on a potential showdown between strawweight champion Weili Zhang and Rose Namajunas. Recently, White seemed to do just that when he claimed that Namajunas has no desire to be world champion again. Both Namajunas and her team have disputed this claim and chalked White’s comments up to some kind of misunderstanding. Speaking with ESPN recently, Dana White gave an update on what’s next for Zhang, which he hopes will feature a bout against Thug Rose.
“We’re working on her, too,” White said about Zhang. “Obviously, the fight that everybody wants to see is her and Rose [Namajunas]. Hopefully we can get that done. If not, the next one in line would probably be Carla Esparza. We’re looking at doing that fight this year and in Asia.”
Dana White isn’t the only one hoping that Zhang and Namajunas are able to get together in the Octagon. The stylistic matchup between the two is mouthwatering for MMA fans around the world, especially for fans of Asia should this be the continent that hosts the event.
Competing in Asia Familiar for Chinese Weili Zhang
The last time Weili Zhang competed in Asia saw her capture the strawweight championship in a TKO over Jessica Andrade at UFC 248 in her home country of China. In fact, the majority of Zhang’s career bouts have taken place in Asia, with only three of her professional fights happening outside of the continent. If Rose Namajunas turns out to be Zhang’s opponent for an Asia fight, that would be Namajunas’ first time competing there.
Weili Zhang’s most recent fight was against Joanna Jędrzejczyk at UFC 248 in the consensus 2020 Fight of the Year. It’s fun to imagine an exquisite battle between two high-level mixed martial artists like Weili Zhang and Rose Namajunas comparing to Zhang’s battle against Jędrzejczyk and for it to happen in front of a fervent Asian audience. And it looks like the UFC boss is the chief person imagining exactly that.
If a Weili Zhang vs. Rose Namajunas bout does take place in Asia, do you think this would have a major impact on Namajunas’ chances of being victorious?
