Zhang Weili is not happy with Joanna Jedrzejczyk’s apparent joke about coronavirus.
[autotag]Joanna Jedrzejczyk[/autotag] took an insensitive jab at [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] that she appears to have instantly regretted.
In her Instagram story, Jedrzejczyk posted an image of herself standing behind UFC strawweight champion Weili while wearing a gas mask, implying that she is protecting herself from the possibility of catching the coronavirus, which is currently at the center of a deadly outbreak in China. Jedrzejczyk later deleted the post.
The current coronavirus outbreak first appeared in Wuhan in the beginning of December and has since claimed the lives of over 130 people in Weili’s native China. The virus is continuing to spread, with over 6,000 confirmed cases so far.
In a classy manner, Weili took to Instagram to respond to Jedrzejczyk, politely asking her to divert the focus of any jabs directly to her, as opposed to a deadly virus, a matter she said shouldn’t be at the center of any jokes.
“To make fun of tragedy is a true sign of ones character. People are dying, someones father, someones mother, someones child. Say what you want about me if it makes you feel stronger but do not joke about what’s happening here. I wish you good health until March 7th. I will see you soon.”
Joanna Jedrzejczyk weighs in on her UFC 248 bout with champ Zhang Weili and recent champion turnover in the strawweight division.
Being a UFC champion is not easy, and [autotag]Joanna Jedrzejczyk[/autotag] knows that.
The former UFC strawweight titleholder will get a chance to regain the belt on March 7 at UFC 248 in Las Vegas when she challenges champion Zhang Weili. And with the possibility of reclaiming UFC gold, Jedrzejczyk (16-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) is aware of the challenges that could come her way if successful.
The Polish standout said there are difficulties that come with being a UFC champion. She also has a theory about the recent champ turnover at 115 pounds.
“It’s not easy to become the champ,” Jedrzejczyk told MMA Junkie. “You definitely need to do many more obligations after you win the belt, and it’s not like the champions don’t want to do it. Of course, you are like a stock for the UFC and they need to use you to promote the organization, so you need to do more stuff.
“I love doing many different (thinks). I love doing media. I love working with sponsors. But it’s all about organizing your time. Some fighters, they don’t know how to do it – and I know how to do it. I can’t wait to get this belt and put in the work again.”
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Since the UFC implemented the strawweight division in 2014, there have been five different champions. Only one – Jedrzejczyk – has been able to defend the belt more than once. Her five-fight defense reign is the longest in UFC strawweight history.
But despite the historic streak, the betting odds are close to even for her upcoming title challenge with Jedrzejczyk as a slight underdog. The first Chinese champion in UFC history has impressed many with her quick and dominant rise, capped off by a first-round knockout win over Jessica Andrade in August to win the title.
Jedrzejczyk is proud of her record and sees it as a warning sign for people counting her out at UFC 248.
“Two years and eight months – almost three years,” Jedrzejczyk said. “It was a long time, but people always are going to doubt me, doubt you, and they keep on doubting. But show me another one.
“Of course, I give all my respect to Rose Namajunas. I really like her and she beat me. She knocked me out, and there is no question. But Ronda Rousey – six successful title defenses. Joanna Jedrzejczyk, five. And of course, the ‘GOAT’ of women’s MMA is Amanda Nunes right now. Nobody can take my legacy away from me, and that’s the point. People can say whatever they want. I don’t care.”
The 32-year-old Jedrzejczyk remains a proven championship-caliber fighter and finds herself 2-0 in her most recent two strawweight performances. She had strong showings in her decision victories against veterans Michelle Waterson and Tecia Torres.
On top of Jedrzejczyk’s assets, Weili has skeptics like any other fighter who’s a newly crowned champion.
Weili has an extensive record, but has yet to be really tested in the UFC. She’s only been in the promotion for a little more than a year. And some questioned Weili’s title shot since she was ranked sixth in the UFC’s rankings at the time.
Jedrzejczyk sees some of the things happening in the game, but still gives full credit to Weili and acknowledges her legitimacy as champion. She knows from experience it’s a tough thing to do.
“Politics, money, new (UFC) Performance Institute in Shanghai – but hey, she made it to the top and she’s the champ for a reason,” Jedrzejczyk said. “Rankings don’t fight, and someone can look better on paper. But when you step in the octagon, it’s always 50-50. It doesn’t matter if you looked better on paper or not.
“And she made it. I didn’t want to fight her in August. Tatiana (Suarez) was injured, and there was nobody who could step in to fight Jessica Andrade.(Andrade) was waiting, got to go fight in China. She did it, she lost, and we have a new champ – and that’s it. It’s simple like this.
“I’m very happy for Zhang that she took her chance and she became champion. That’s it. There’s more than 500 fighters in the UFC and there is only like 13 or 14 champions, so it’s a special league. If you make it once, you’re the ‘GOAT’ forever.”
Take a look at Zhang Weili’s first day of training camp for her UFC 248 title defense against Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
[autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] officially has started training camp for her first title defense.
UFC strawweight champion Weili (20-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) takes on former champ [autotag]Joanna Jedrzejczyk[/autotag] (16-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) at UFC 248 on March 7.
YouTube channel “Teach, Train and Travel” has released a video showing some of the champ’s strength and conditioning training in preparation for her fight against Jedrzejczyk.
The channel features an array of videos surrounding Weili’s life, as well as her continued pursuit to learn the English language.
Weili captured the title this past August in her home country of China. She ran through Jessica Andrade in just 42 seconds to become the first Chinese UFC champion in history. She’ll attempt her first title defense against former UFC strawweight queen Jedrzejczyk.
The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.
A full recap of 2019’s most significant footnotes and milestones from the events, the fights and individual performances.
Now that the year has come to a close, and with a major assist from UFC research analyst and live statistics producers Michael Carroll, here are some of 2019’s most significant milestones from the events, the fights and individual performances.
* * * *
EVENTS
Octagon girls at UFC 238
The UFC held 42 events in 39 different cities across 15 countries and five continents.
Within those events, there were 516 fights across 13 different weight classes (including catchweight bouts).
Those 516 fights combined for a total cage time of 94:59:04.
The longest event of the year was “UFC on ESPN+ 19: Joanna vs. Waterson” in Tampa, Fla., at 2:57:27. It was the second longest in company history behind “UFC Fight Night 121: Werdum vs. Tybura” (3:04:18).
The shortest event of the year was “UFC on ESPN 3: Ngannou vs. Dos Santos” in Minneapolis at 1:38:12.
“UFC on ESPN+ 13: de Randamie vs. Ladd” featured 62 seconds of total fight time in the main and co-main event, the single-event record in company history.
At those events, the UFC drew an announced total attendance of 548,023 for a live gate total of $61,050,133.74 (Note: Live gate was not announced for 11 events; no attendance was revealed for one event).
The highest reported attended event of the year was “UFC 243: Whittaker vs. Adesanya” in Melbourne (57,127), which was the all-time company record, while the lowest attended event was “UFC on ESPN+ 20: Maia vs. Askren” in Singapore (7,155).
The highest reported income gate of the year was “UFC 244: Masvidal vs. Diaz” in New York ($6,575,996.19) while the lowest reported income gate of the year went to “UFC on ESPN+ 4: Lewis vs. Dos Santos” in Wichita, Kan. ($636,417.26).
In 2019, 168 fight-night bonuses were given out for a sum of $8.4 million.
The most knockouts at a single event went to “UFC on ESPN 3: Ngannou vs. Dos Santos,” “UFC 244: Masvidal vs. Diaz” and “UFC 245: Usman vs. Covington” with seven each.
Henry Cejudo vs. Marlon Moraes
“UFC 238: Cejudo vs. Moraes” featured a total of 1,818 significant strikes landed, a new single-event record. UFC 231 held the previous high with 1,647.
The most submissions at a single event went to “UFC on ESPN 5: Covington vs. Lawler” with five.
The most fights to go to a decision at a single event went to “UFC on ESPN 4: Dos Anjos vs. Edwards” with 10.
“UFC on ESPN 4: Dos Anjos vs. Edwards” featured nine consecutive decision results, tied for the single-event UFC record.
“UFC on ESPN 4: Dos Anjos vs. Edwards” started with nine consecutive decision results, the single-event record.
“UFC on ESPN 7: Overeem vs. Rozenstruik” marked the third event in company history to feature two draws. UFC 22 and UFC 216 were the others.
Betting favorites went 319-182. Fifteen fights ended in a draw, no contest or had even odds.
Betting favorites went 22-18 in event headliners. Two fights ended in a no contest or had even odds.
“UFC on ESPN 3: Ngannou vs. Dos Santos” and “UFC on ESPN+ 22: Blachowicz vs. Jacare” had the most favorites come through victorious, with 10 each. On the flip side, seven underdogs won at three separate events.
Aspen Ladd
A total of 30 fighters officially missed weight for their respective contests. The 28 fighters in that group to compete went 10-17-1 in their respective bouts.
A total of 135 fighters made their UFC debut in 2019. Those fighters went 57-74-2 with two no contests. Debuting fighters who faced an opponent with at least one bout of UFC experience went 43-58-2 with two no contests.
A variety of circumstances caused a total of 19 UFC main event or co-main event fights to be adjusted, postponed or canceled entirely.
One entire event was canceled (UFC 233 in January in Anaheim, Calif.)
Joanna Jedrzejczyk sees her Zhang Weili fight at UFC 248 playing out in a similar fashion to her win over Jessica Andrade.
[autotag]Joanna Jedrzejczyk[/autotag] sees a familiar stylistic matchup in her upcoming title fight vs. [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag].
Jedrzejczyk (16-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) will attempt to recapture the UFC’s strawweight title when she takes on current 115-pound champ Weili (20-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) at UFC 248 on March 7 in Las Vegas.
And while she acknowledges the threats in Weili’s game, Jedrzejczyk sees the fight playing out in a similar fashion to her unanimous decision win over Jessica Andrade at UFC 211.
“Definitely ‘and the new,’ but she’s strong animal,” Jedrzejczyk said on the latest “UFC Unfiltered” podcast. “She’s so big. She’s huge, and she throws very hard punches, but I’m more experienced, I think, through these championship bouts so many times, so I’m a real fighter. My conditioning is always on point, and I will have to be very clever, very sneaky, as well, and I think this fight with Zhang will be similar to the fight with Jessica Andrade.”
The UFC 211 clash with Andrade was a striking masterclass by former strawweight queen Jedrzejczyk, and she was able to pick the powerful Brazilian apart from the outside, notching her fifth title defense.
Jedrzejczyk now sees March 7 playing out in a similar fashion.
“They both are very, very similar fighters,” Jedrzejczyk said. “Going forward, throwing loopy punches, looking for good wrestling, like strong wrestling. They’re not very technical fighters, but they’re very, very strong, so I think this fight is going to be very similar. I have to cut the angles, slip, counter, use my timing, my length, my reach. There’s much more coming.”
In her last outing at this past October’s UFC on ESPN+ 19, Jedrzejczyk returned back to 115 pounds after a failed attempt at capturing the UFC women’s flyweight title. It was a patented Jedrzejczyk performance, where she was able to pepper Michelle Waterson, overwhelming her over the course of five rounds.
“I’m back to the roots,” Jedrzejczyk said. “I put more combos – it’s not only boxing or kicks. I put more combinations, as I used to do in muay Thai and at the beginning of my MMA fighting career, and it’s good. I’m very proud of myself, how I showed up in my last fight with Michelle Waterson. I think I sent a strong message to the strawweight division. Good striking, good wrestling, everything was on point.”
How did we reach our overall list, and did we get it right?
In pitching the MMA Junkie staff on coming up with a composite ranking of the top 10 fighters of the 2010s, I had people asking me about the criteria. My answer was simple: There is no criteria. Whatever you think it means to be among the 10 greatest fighters of the last decade, that’s the criteria.
To me, it’s better this way. I could’ve emphasized in-cage results, in which case No. 1 ends up being [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] without question. Same for emphasizing impact on the sport: [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] comes out on top easily. But what fun would that have been? There’s so much more to consider when trying to pick the top 10 fighters of the last 10 years among a pool of talent that never has been better.
The beauty of our list is that all 14 MMA Junkie staff members, who’ve spent so many years covering the sport, submitted individual top 10 lists. No discussion, no debate, no one person’s bias determined our final rankings. We all had a say in this. From there, it was a matter of mathematics – add up points for each fighter ranked and divide by 14 to determine the final rankings.
For reaction to our top 10, watch the roundtable discussion video above with MMA Junkie’s John Morgan and Dan Tom, and MMA Junkie Radio’s “Gorgeous” George and “Goze.”
Below is a ranking of all 26 fighters included, as well as notes about our list.
26 different fighters were included in at least one staff member’s top 10
8 different fighters were included in only one ranking
Individual No. 1 rankings: Jon Jones (7), Demetrious Johnson (3), Georges St-Pierre (2), Daniel Cormier (1), Ronda Rousey (1)
Cormier was the only fighter to be included in each of the 14 rankings.
Jones and Conor McGregor each were excluded from one staff member’s list.
Of 8 fighters included in only one ranking, Cain Velasquez was highest (No. 3); Eddie Alvarez was lowest (No. 10).
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
Mike Bohn, senior reporter
1. Jon Jones
2. Georges St-Pierre
3. Jose Aldo
4. Demetrious Johnson
5. Anderson Silva
6. Conor McGregor
7. Max Holloway
8. Tony Ferguson
9. Khabib Nurmagomedov
10. Daniel Cormier
Dave Doyle, senior editor
1. Demetrious Johnson
2. Daniel Cormier
3, Jon Jones
4. Anderson Silva
5. Georges St-Pierre
6. Cris Cyborg
7. Jose Aldo
8. Khabib Nurmagomedov
9. Conor McGregor
10. Eddie Alvarez
Matt Erickson, assistant managing editor
1. Daniel Cormier
2. Demetrious Johnson
3. Amanda Nunes
4. Conor McGregor
5. Max Holloway
6. Patricio Freire
7. Ronda Rousey
8. Georges St-Pierre
9. Ryan Bader
10. Jose Aldo
Brian Garcia, MMA Junkie Radio host
1. Georges St-Pierre
2. Jon Jones
3. Daniel Cormier
4. Henry Cejudo
5. Demetrious Johnson
6. Khabib Nurmagomedov
7. Stipe Miocic
8. Amanda Nunes
9. Max Holloway
10. Ryan Bader
George Garcia, MMA Junkie Radio host
1. Jon Jones
2. Georges St-Pierre
3. Daniel Cormier
4. Khabib Nurmagomedov
5. Demetrious Johnson
6. Amanda Nunes
7. Cris Cyborg
8. Stipe Miocic
9. Conor McGregor
10. Henry Cejudo
Farah Hannoun, reporter
1. Jon Jones
2. Ronda Rousey
3. Conor McGregor
4. Demetrious Johnson
5. Khabib Nurmagomedov
6. Daniel Cormier
7. Amanda Nunes
8. Max Holloway
9. Stipe Miocic
10. Henry Cejudo
Ken Hathaway, senior video editor
1. Jon Jones
2. Amanda Nunes
3. Ronda Rousey
4. Max Holloway
5. Conor McGregor
6. Daniel Cormier
7. Georges St-Pierre
8. Anderson Silva
9. Khabib Nurmagomedov
10. Cris Cyborg
Simon Head, reporter
1. Demetrious Johnson
2. Daniel Cormier
3. Jon Jones
4. Amanda Nunes
5. Donald Cerrone
6. Georges St-Pierre
7. Conor McGregor
8. Douglas Lima
9. Cris Cyborg
10. Michael Bisping
Nolan King, reporter
1. Jon Jones
2. Daniel Cormier
3. Amanda Nunes
4. Demetrious Johnson
5. Max Holloway
6. Stipe Miocic
7. Georges St. Pierre
8. Jose Aldo
9. Conor McGregor
10. Khabib Nurmagomedov
John Morgan, lead staff reporter
1. Jon Jones
2. Conor McGregor
3. Ronda Rousey
4. Georges St-Pierre
5. Daniel Cormier
6. Demetrious Johnson
7. Amanda Nunes
8. Jose Aldo
9. Michael Bisping
10. Donald Cerrone
Simon Samano, managing editor
1. Demetrious Johnson
2. Georges St-Pierre
3. Jon Jones
4. Daniel Cormier
5. Khabib Nurmagomedov
6. Amanda Nunes
7. Tony Ferguson
8. Conor McGregor
9. Ronda Rousey
10. Max Holloway
Danny Segura, reporter
1. Ronda Rousey
2. Jon Jones
3. Cain Velasquez
4. Georges St-Pierre
5. Demetrious Johnson
6. Jose Aldo
7. Cris Cyborg
8. Conor McGregor
9. Khabib Nurmagomedov
10. Daniel Cormier
Abbey Subhan, video editor
1. Georges St-Pierre
2. Conor McGregor
3. Jon Jones
4. Daniel Cormier
5. Amanda Nunes
6. Joanna Jedrzejczyk
7. Frankie Edgar
8. Anderson Silva
9. Carlos Condit
10. Ronda Rousey
Dan Tom, fight analyst
1. Jon Jones
2. Jose Aldo
3. Khabib Nurmagomedov
4. Dominick Cruz
5. Demetrious Johnson
6. Conor McGregor
7. Ronda Rousey
8. Daniel Cormier
9. Max Holloway
10. Tony Ferguson
UFC women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang showcased her body punching power in her latest Instagram post and left UFC president Dana White suitably impressed.
The upcoming battle for the UFC women’s strawweight title between [autotag]Zhang Weili [/autotag] and [autotag]Joanna Jedrzejczyk[/autotag] at UFC 248 is already one of the stand-out matchups of early 2020. And, if the Chinese UFC champion’s latest video is anything to go by, we could be set for an explosive encounter.
Weili (20-1, 4-0 UFC) posted a video to her Instagram page showing her hammering her coach with a barrage of vicious body shots. Eventually, “Magnum” landed one power punch too many as her coach, half-laughing, doubled over in pain.
The video was certainly enough to impress UFC president Dana White, who shared the clip to his 5.1 million followers on Twitter with the simple caption: “GOD DAAAAMN @MmaWeili”
Weili’s brutal body punching could shed a little light on how she plans to approach her upcoming clash with former champion Jedrzejczyk (16-3, 10-3 UFC). The Pole’s best work inside the octagon has come in the stand-up realm, with her breathless strike output and five-round gas tank taking her to five consecutive title defenses during her reign as the UFC’s 115-pound queen.
But now Weili sits at the top of the strawweight tree and, if this footage is anything to go by, she may be preparing to go toe to toe with Jedrzejczyk in Las Vegas.
The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk is ready to stand toe to toe with Zhang Weili’s power.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Joanna Jedrzejczyk[/autotag] is ready to stand toe to toe with UFC strawweight champion [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag]’s power punches.
Jedrzejczyk (16-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC), the former 115-pound champ, will look to reclaim her title when she challenges Weili (20-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) on March 7 at UFC 248.
Weili captured the title in August by running right through Jessica Andrade with a barrage of power punches and taking her out in just 42 seconds. Jedrzejczyk is well aware of Weili’s power, but she’s confident that she will devise the right plan with her team for this fight.
“Every opponent is different, and she’s definitely very strong,” Jedrzejczyk said backstage this past weekend at UFC 245. “She’s young, very hungry, her punches are juicy, and I watch her fight two days ago with Mikey Brown because we – Mikey Brown is crazy about this fight. We’re going to have a good plan, but of course I will have to take this fight second by second. Like I said, she’s very dangerous, but I will show her this Polish power very soon.”
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Jedrzejczyk explained what she meant by Weili’s punches being “juicy,” referring to her strength and frame, which is relatively different to the taller and longer Jedrzejczyk.
“Juicy and crispy and, yeah, she’s wild. She’s wild. Definitely she’s wild,” Jedrzejczyk said. “She’s not that technical of a fighter, but she’s very strong. She’s big, she’s massive, so that’s why her punches are very juicy. I’m tall in the strawweight division, so I’m never going to be like bully person you know, like big person and very muscular.”
You can watch Jedrzejczyk’s full scrum with reporters in the video below.
