During a UFC 275 virtual press conference on Monday, former women’s strawweight champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk put Weili Zhang on the spot.
When one reporter asked the Chinese ex-champ about rumors of a five-round fight being possible, and if she’d be game for a longer contest, Jedrzejczyk answered for her.
“No, she turned down the fight a month ago,” Jedrzejczyk (16-4) interjected. “So she doesn’t want to go five rounds.”
Zhang did not contradict that claim. Instead, she downplayed the difference an extra two rounds would make in the fight, a rematch of their March 2020 classic — widely considered one of the best fights of all time, male or female.
“Personally I think there’s no big difference between three rounds or five rounds, because we’re not the main event, and not the title even,” Zhang stated, speaking through an interpreter. “So I think the three rounds or five rounds to get ready is a same, and the only difference is going to be in the strategy part.”
“Smart answer,” Jedrzejczyk replied. The Polish champ, who to date has proven to be the longest serving 115 pound champion in the UFC, a run that ended with a loss to Rose Namajunas, has been campaigning for five rounds in the rematch for some time.
The pair will run it back on the UFC 275 Pay-Per-View card on June 11, and while two title fights top the card, Jedrzejczyk-Zhang 2 will certainly have a lot of eyeballs on it. With their first fight tearing down the house, not having them run it back for five rounds does feel like a missed opportunity — especially when the bout could easily headline an ESPN card.
Freshly motivated after watching the UFC 274 title fight between Rose Namajunas and Carla Esparza, Joanna Jedrzejczyk said she still considers herself the Queen of the strawweight division.
“People are like, ‘you are not the queen anymore.’ Yes, I’m the queen of the strawweight division. I put on a hell of a lot of work and lots of effort into building this division. It’s the lightest division in the UFC, but people love watching the strawweights, and we always put on great fights. Me, Weili Zhang, Rose [Namajunas], and other girls as well.”
Watch the full UFC 275 virtual press conference appearance by Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Weili Zhang above.
