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#2 UFC Strawweight title: Weili Zhang vs. Rose Namajunas

Weili Zhang has not fought since her war with Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 248.

When you consider the fighting style of both women – as well as the fact that Rose Namajunas has used apparent xenophobia to drum up a personal issue of sorts – this one should be an excellent fight.

The last time we saw Weili Zhang, the UFC Strawweight champ was involved in an instant classic.

She went toe-to-toe with former champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 248, eventually outpointing her after 25 minutes of non-stop action.

The two women traded the kind of strikes that would likely have stopped any other fighter in the division – but in the end, Magnum came away with her hand raised.

This fight should give her a different kind of test, though.

Namajunas – who beat Jedrzejczyk twice – is one of the best female strikers we’ve seen in the UFC. Thug Rose has an excellent boxing game based around her jab, but she’s also adept at throwing kicks and knees. On the ground, she has a venomous submission game.

Essentially, she’s a threat in every single area.

What she seems to lack somewhat, though, is the power of Zhang. Magnum hits as hard as any fighter we’ve seen at Strawweight – as we found out when she destroyed Jessica Andrade with punches, elbows and knees in her title win.

And the Chinese fighter is equally dangerous on the ground, too. Of her 21 wins, seven have come by submission, including one over Jessica Aguilar in the UFC.

The big question here is how much that war with Jedrzejczyk has taken out of her. We often hear about wars that can take years off a fighter’s career, and Zhang’s fight at UFC 248 would definitely be considered one of them.

However, Zhang has stayed away from the UFC since, meaning she’s had well over a year to recover now.

And while Namajunas did beat Andrade in her most recent fight in 2020, it wasn’t an overly convincing win, as she struggled with the Brazilian’s power and strength.

Overall, this one could go either way, as both women are dangerous finishers capable of putting the other away. However, Zhang seems to be the more powerful fighter, and so she seems like the more logical pick, even if there are some question marks over her durability after that Jedrzejczyk war.

The Pick: Zhang via second-round TKO