Weili Zhang has not defended the UFC women’s strawweight title since UFC 248 in March of this year, but if her coach is to be believed, Zhang’s next title defense will happen in early 2021 and against Rose Namajunas.
Pedro Jordao, who is Zhang’s coach, says that the ongoing coronavirus pandemic could change plans, but Zhang should be defending the gold in the first quarter of 2021.
“We’ll see how things go with this virus,” Jordao said to MMA Fighting. “But I think (the fight) will probably be in the first quarter. … We’re training for a while here. It appears that her next fight will be against Rose, but nothing is set yet. Everything indicates that’s the plan — and it makes sense, everybody knows that.”
The UFC has held a multitude of events during the coronavirus pandemic, with the majority of them happening either at Fight Island or the UFC Apex.
Jordao says that Namajunas is a good opponent for Zhang from a stylistic standpoint.
“She’s another tough opponent,” Jordao said. “I think Rose is more technical (than Zhang’s previous opponents), more calm, and very talented. It’s time to test that. I know she’s probably training really hard, but I think it’s a good match-up for Weili Zhang style-wise. People say she’s is very strong, very strong, but we’ve seen how technical she is, too. I trust Weili and think she will be able to defeat Rose.”
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