It appears that the winner of the Weili
Zhang–Joanna
Jedrzejczyk rematch will be the next No. 1 contender in the UFC
strawweight division.
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UFC president Dana White said in an interview with MMA Underground
that the winner of the
UFC 275 bout will receive a title shot against recently-crowned
champion Carla
Esparza.
“This would definitely be that whoever wins this will definitely
fight Esparza for the title,” White said.
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Zhang and Jedrzejczyk initially squared
off at at UFC 248 in March 2020. Zhang retained the 115-pound belt
in a memorable split-decision triumph that was selected as
Sherdog.com’s “Fight of the Year.” Zhang would go on to lose the
belt in a first-round knockout loss to Rose
Namajunas at UFC 261 before dropping a split verdict to
Namajunas in a rematch at UFC 268. Jedrzejczyk, who defended the
bel five times before relinquishing it to Namajunas in 2017, hasn’t
fought since the loss to Zhang.
Esparza claimed the title with a forgettable split-decision win
against Namajunas in the UFC 274 headliner. “Cookie Monster” saw
her first championship reign end at the hands of Jedrzejczyk, but
she has not yet faced Zhang in the Octagon.
“I’m sure she’ll be watching this Saturday closely and be ready to
roll with whoever wins,” White said of Esparza.
UFC 275 takes place at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang,
Singapore, on Saturday and is headlined by a light heavyweight
title clash between Glover
Teixeira and Jiri
Prochazka. In the co-main event, Valentina
Shevchenko will defend her flyweight strap against Taila
Santos. Zhang vs. Jedrzejczyk 2 is expected to precede the two
title bouts on the pay-per-view draw.