Former UFC women's strawweight champion Joanna Jerzejczyk is now good friends with Weili Zhang.
“Joanna Champion” has been retired from MMA for nearly two years. Joanna Jedrzejczyk's last appearance was at UFC 275 in June 2022, where she faced her arch-rival Weili Zhang. “Magnum” had just suffered back-to-back losses to Rose Namajunas and was looking to get back into title contention.
The fight itself also took place more than two years after their first encounter at UFC 248. There, Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Weili Zhang put on one of the greatest matches in MMA history. The two fought back and forth over five rounds, with the Chinese fighter retaining the strawweight title via split decision.
Unfortunately, Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Zhang Weili 2 wasn't that competitive. The former champion suffered a crushing defeat in the rematch two years ago and retired after the fight. Since then, the former champion has kept his promise to fight again. Instead, she moved into the world of management and behind-the-scenes work.
With this, she also ended her rivalry with Zhang Weili. The two greats were spotted meeting last month and Joanna Jedrzejczyk published a video of the two on social media.one month later MMA hourthe former champion opened up in the meeting, and it seemed like he was learning about Weili outside of fighting.
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Joanna Jedrzejczyk talks about her friendship with former UFC rival Zhang Weili
“She's a very sweet person, you know?” Joanna Jedrzejczyk said. MMA hour, about Zhang Weili. “I remember our first title game and it was like a Super Bowl media scrum. I remember we had the Super Bowl in Miami in 2020 and media day was like three days before that. She was like, “You look so beautiful!” I know Weili, but thank you! I'm someone who needs this kind of gaze to make myself more aggressive in sports. ”
She continued, “She said, 'You're so beautiful,' and what the heck? It's like a beauty contest, and you have to compete right away. She was always so sweet. She approached me several times. sent me a DM to [afterward]…Weili sent an email saying something like, “Please, let’s meet, let’s come over to my house and have dinner!” Well, it was good for her to get to know about her country and friends. ”
“…she is a very kind and caring person,” Joanna Jedrzejczyk concluded. “Thank you, Weili.”
Joanna Jedrzejczyk is now retired from competition, but Weili Zhang is still active. “Magnum” is scheduled to return to the Octagon next month in the co-main event of UFC 300. There, the current women's strawweight champion will face Yang Xiaonan.
What do you think about these comments from Joanna Jedrzejczyk? Are you excited about Zhang Weili's scheduled return at next month's UFC 300?
