Their first encounter resulted in an all-time classic. Most expect
something similar in the rematch.
Weili
Zhang will confront fellow former
Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s strawweight titleholder
Joanna
Jedrzejczyk for the second time when they collide in a featured
UFC 275 attraction on Saturday at Singapore Indoor Stadium in
Kallang, Singapore. They combined to land 366 total strikes against
one another at UFC 248 a little more than two years ago, with Zhang
emerging from the unforgettable five-round battle as a split
decision winner. Jedrzejczyk has not set foot in the cage since,
while her Chinese counterpart has suffered back-to-back losses to
Rose
Namajunas.
As Zhang and Jedrzejczyk put the final touches on their respective
training camps, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied
them to this point:
32: Years of age for Zhang, who was born in Handan, China, on Aug.
13, 1989.
7: Zhang victories by submission, accounting for 33% of her career
total (21). Her methods of choice: three armbars, three rear-naked
chokes and one guillotine choke. Zhang holds 10 other victories by
knockout or technical knockout and four more by decision.
3: Sub-minute finishes on the Zhang resume. They include her
sensational 42-second technical knockout of
Jessica
Andrade in the UFC Fight Night 157 main event, which brought
with it the undisputed women’s strawweight crown on Aug. 31,
2019.
5.47: Strikes landed per minute of UFC competition for Zhang, good
for fifth on the organization’s all-time list for women’s
strawweights. Only Andrade (6.70), Jedrzejczyk (6.62),
Xiaonan Yan
(5.66) and
Joanne Wood
(5.59) have connected at a higher rate than the
Fight Ready standout.
.732: Cumulative winning percentage between the two
opponents—Namajunas (twice) and
Meng Bo—who
have beaten Zhang. They sport a combined record of 30-11.
34: Years of age for Jedrzejczyk, who was born on Aug. 18, 1987 in
Olsztyn, Poland.
4: Jedrzejczyk wins by knockout or technical knockout, accounting
for 25% of her career total (16). The
American Top Team rep’s complete list of victims:
Jessica
Penne,
Carla
Esparza,
Rosi Sexton
and
Kate
Jackson. Jedrzejczyk owns one other win by submission—she put
away
Liliya
Kazak with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their
Makowski Fighting Championship 5 pairing on Dec. 8, 2012—and 11
more by decision.
1,633: Significant strikes landed by Jedrzejczyk as a UFC women’s
strawweight, placing her first on the promotion’s all-time list at
115 pounds. In fact, she has connected with 146 more such strikes
than her closest competitor—onetime
Invicta Fighting Championships titleholder
Angela Hill
(1,487)—and has done so in seven fewer appearances.
62: Professional rounds completed by Jedrzejczyk as a mixed martial
artist. She has gone the distance on 14 different occasions and
carries an 11-3 record in those bouts.
54: Combined victories between the three opponents—Namajunas
(twice), Zhang and
Valentina
Shevchenko—who have defeated Jedrzejczyk. They boast a
cumulative .831 winning percentage (54-11).