UFC
281 likely now has a co-main event, as reigning women’s
strawweight champion Carla
Esparza will defend against former division ruler Zhang Weili
at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 12.
Esparza, 19-6, revealed the pairing on her verified Instagram
account Thursday afternoon. The bout has not been confirmed by the
Ultimate Fighting Championship as of publication time.
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Esparza recently regained the strawweight title for a second time
by defeating Rose
Namajunas at UFC 274 via split decision, in what was widely
considered one of the dullest title fights in mixed martial arts
history. Esparza extended her winning streak to six with the
crown-clinching performance.
Weili, meanwhile, dispatched of strawweight legend and long-time
champion Joanna
Jedrzejczyk in spectacular fashion at UFC 276 with a spinning
back-fist in Round 2. Prior to that, Weili had lost two title
fights against Namajunas. Esparza initially announced that she
wanted to defend the title in 2023 due to injury, but is apparently
good to go for the end of the year.
UFC 281 will be headlined by a middleweight title fight pitting
Israel
Adesanya against Alex
Pereira; the pair has already met twice under kickboxing rules,
with the Brazilian taking both contests. “Poatan” won via decision
in 2016 and left the Nigerian-born New Zealander unconscious in
2017.