It appears that the winner of the Zhang Weili-Joanna Jedrzejczyk rematch will be the next No. 1 contender in the UFC strawweight division.
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.
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.
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