- Zhang Weili and Joanna Jedrzejczyk have ageed to fight in a rematch at UFC 275 on June 11th in Singapore.
- Weili defeated Jedzejczyk via split decision at UFC 248 in the 2020 Fight of the Year.
- Zhang has opened as the -150 betting favorite and Jedrzejczyk the -130 betting underdog in the rematch.
Before Saturday night’s massive UFC 273 event at the Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, the UFC made a big announcement.
According to the company’s Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell, former strawweight champions Zhang Weili and Joanna Jedrzejczyk have agreed to fight in a rematch at UFC 275 which is scheduled for June 11th in Singapore.
Weili and Joanna to Run it Back
Arguably the greatest fight in women’s MMA history will run it back ?
Joanna Jedrzejczyk is set to return against Zhang Weili at UFC 275, UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell told @marc_raimondi.
Both have verbally agreed and bout agreements will be sent out soon. pic.twitter.com/EAYhJ69jXz
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 9, 2022
Zhang and Jedrzejczyk fought in a five-round war in the co-main event of UFC 248 last March 7, 2020. Zhang won the bout via split decision but not after getting the toughest fight of her life from Jedrzejczyk who dominated the UFC women’s strawweight division before she was unseated by Rose Namajunas.
Weili was the -235 betting favorite in that bout after taking the UFC women’s strawweight division by storm. Zhang won her first four UFC bouts, including a first-round knockout of then-champion Jessica Andrade at UFC Fight Night 157, to become the first Chinese fighter to win a UFC title.
Joanna entered that fight with a 2-3 record in her previous five bouts but her three losses were in title fights against Namajunas ( twice ) and Valentina Shevchenko in a failed bid to win the UFC women’s strawweight title. Despite entering UFC 248 as a +195 betting underdog, Jedrzejczyk took Zhang to her limits and nearly pulled off the upset in the 2020 Fight of the Year winner.
Zhang Favored in Joanna Rematch
Here are the opening odds for Zhang Weili vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk 2:
Zhang Weili -150 (2/3)
Joanna Jedrzejczyk +130 (13/10)(odds via @betonline_ag) ✌️ #UFC275 pic.twitter.com/8yPPiZiHjc
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) April 9, 2022
According to the online sportsbook BetOnline, Zhang is the betting favorite to beat Joanna in their rematch. The said online betting sites have listed Weili as the -150 betting favorite and Jedrzejczyk as the +130 bottom dog. Those are just about the same odds they opened the first fight with. Zhang opened at -175 in their first bout while Jerzejczyk hit the betting boards at +135 when the lines for UFC 248 first opened.
Since their first bout, Weili has lost back-to-back fights to Namajunas. She lost the belt as the -200 betting favorite at UFC 261 via first-round knockout and was upset again at UFC 268 via split decision as the -130 odds on favorite to win the fight. Those losses were the first and second for Zhang since dropping her MMA debut in 2013 at the China MMA League.
Meanwhile, Jedrzejczyk is currently unranked but not because she has lost a step or two but because of her inactivity. The Polish MMA superstar has not fought since losing to Zhang. Joanna recently claimed that she was offered by the UFC a title shot in late 2022 but didn’t want to wait that long and instead asked for a rematch with Zhang, which she got.
