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Weili Zhang faced Joanna Jedrzejczyk in the co-main event of UFC 248, defending her Featherweight Championship for the first time ever.
While the bout was highly-anticipated, nobody could have predicted that the two would deliver the greatest fight in Women's MMA history and arguably one of the closest in the history of the sport, regardless of gender.
Both women left the Octagon looking a lot worse for wear, with Jedrzejczyk suffering a hematoma on her forehead. They were both sent to the hospital soon after the fight and in a video (H/T Bloody Elbow), Weili Zhang recounted what happened post-UFC 248 when she met Jedrzejczyk:
“After the match, Joanna and I, we both met at the hospital. We arrived at the hospital almost at the same time. There was just a curtain between us."
Weili revealed that Jedrzejczyk had been crying for hours but she was unable to comfort the former champion due to a language barrier.
“She kept crying for hours. I feel very sad. I especially wanted to comfort her. But the language barrier, I can only tell her, 'Good job! You did very well. You are very good.' Then she kept crying, covering her head."
Despite the disrespect that she had received from Jedrzejczyk during their staredown, Weili admitted that she felt bad for the Polish fighter and that any negative feelings towards her rival have now gone.
“I feel very sad, to be honest. Although she was disrespectful to me before. But I saw her injury while crying. I felt bad for her. Then I talked to her. Then when she left — I am waiting for the examination — when she left, she told me this and I was particularly moved, she said: ‘Keep defending and I will watch you. It will get harder and harder.' I almost shed tears. At that time, I felt a warrior should be like this.”
It's hard to imagine the mental state of both women after a war like that. Luckily, neither of them suffered any long-term injury, with Jedrzejczyk heading back home to Poland to receive plastic surgery.
