SINGAPORE – With [autotag]Joanna Jedrzejczyk[/autotag] and [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag]’s rematch at UFC 275 being three rounds, Mike Brown envisions a more furious start.
Jedrzejczyk (16-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) and Weili (21-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) went to war for 25 minutes at UFC 248, where Weili edged out Jedrzejczyk in arguably the greatest female fight in the promotion’s history.
The pair will run things back Saturday at Singapore Indoor Stadium (the main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+), and with two less rounds to work this time, Jedrzejczyk’s head coach Brown of American Top Team sees both ladies getting off to a faster start.
“I think that’s really the only difference is pace,” Brown told MMA Junkie. “Everyone gives it their all in training for a three or a five. The only thing different is the pace. This allows you to put on the gas a little bit earlier and go higher volume right from the jump so that’s what I expect. I expect action from bell to bell. You have two confident athletes that 100 percent believe in themselves, believe they’re gonna win and they’re both high-volume strikers that believe in themselves so I think we’re gonna see fireworks.”
Former strawweight queen Jedrzejczyk hasn’t competed since losing to Weili in March 2020, but now finds herself on the cusp of another title shot if she can avenge her loss.
Jedrzejczyk almost regained her title when she stood toe-to-toe with Weili, but Brown thinks the damage she took, which included a massive hematoma, likely cost her in the judges’ eyes.
“It was a very close fight,” Brown said. “I think Jedrzejczyk landed more strikes, but I think the damage is what maybe fell in Weili’s favor. It wasn’t an easy fight to score, it could have gone many different ways, but there’s a lot to take away from that fight. A lot we don’t want to give away too soon, but I think that we can make the right adjustments, and I think it will be victory this Saturday.”
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