Is Zhang Weili Going to Fight Rose Namajunas After UFC 292? Who Will the UFC Champion Fight After Her Record Win?

The UFC 292 might have ended with a highlight reel finish from the newly crowned UFC Bantamweight champ, Sean O’Malley. But the co-main event also featured a superb Strawweight title bout between Zhang Weili and Amanda Lemos. The noted UFC Strawweight champ, Weili, dominated much of the fight landing a total of 296 strikes compared to Lemos’ 29. Although the Brazilian went the distance, it still wasn’t enough for her to fetch a victory.

Owing to Weili’s domination, all three judges ruled the bout in her favor. The 34-year-old Chinese also defended her UFC Strawweight title for a record third consecutive time with this victory. However, ‘Magnum’s’ win has also triggered a million-dollar question in the UFC community. A large chunk of UFC fans are probably wondering who will be the next challenger for Weili’s UFC Strawweight gold.

Will Zhang Weili take another shot at her only unconquered UFC opponent?

Weili made her UFC debut in 2018 and ramped up 5 straight wins in the Strawweight division. However, her victory train got derailed when she faced the famed former UFC Strawweight champ, Rose Namajunas at UFC 261. ‘Magnum’ took a vicious head kick from ‘Thug Rose’ in the first round of the bout that put her lights out. Her first title shot ended with a disappointing KO loss against Namajunas.

Looking at her previous domination over her opponents, the UFC also granted a rematch to Weili. ‘Thug Rose’ and ‘Magnum’ clashed for the UFC Strawweight gold yet again at UFC 268. This time the Chinese looked a lot more convincing but still fell short of her much-awaited victory over Namajunas. Weili lost the bout once more via a controversial split decision, missing out on the UFC Strawweight gold yet again.

Hence, it’s clear that ‘Thug Rose’ is the only obstacle that Weili hasn’t been able to cross in her UFC career to date. Amidst such a situation, a number of fans might be hoping for the Chinese to call out Namajunas once more.

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Weili showcased massive improvement in her second bout against the former UFC Strawweight queen after getting KO-ed in the first round of their initial bout. Some also argued that she had actually won the second bout. Hence, it may be expected that their trilogy will be nothing short of a barnburner.

Will Rose Namajunas accept Zhang Weili’s trilogy challenge?

Looking at the revenues generated by the previous fights between Namajunas and Weili, it’s quite apparent that the UFC authorities would love to make a trilogy bout between the two. Weili, on the other hand, will also be eager to conquer her only UFC rival who has subjected her to defeats.

But Namajunas hasn’t showcased much interest in the fight. In an appearance on Ariel Helwani’s noted podcast, ‘The MMA Hour’, Namajunas revealed that another fight against Weili doesn’t make much sense to her. She mentioned, “Weili is the champ now so then what? I fight her a third time. It’s just not very interesting. Could just beat her again but to me it’s like more than that. I want something that kinda scares me. I want to face my fears.”

Hence, it’s quite understandable that ‘Thug Rose’ has moved on after her dual victories over the current UFC Strawweight champion. She doesn’t view another Zhang Weili fight as motivating enough to accept it. But UFC fans have witnessed fighters taking up certain fights even though they wanted to refuse it. Often this difference is sorted out with a big bag of riches.

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Can a similar situation get ‘Magnum’ and ‘Thug Rose’ locked up inside the octagon yet again?