Joanna Jędrzejczyk sends message to Weili Zhang after UFC rival ties record

Weili Zhang may have caught up to Joanna Jedrzejcyzk in the greatest strawweight of all time conversation.

China’s first-ever UFC champion made headway in the co-main event of UFC 312 on Saturday, putting her title on the line against undefeated challenger Tatiana Suarez. A betting underdog, the champ Zhang denied 14 out of 15 takedown attempts from Suarez across five rounds.

Zhang seemed to be always one step ahead of Suarez wherever the fight went, winning by unanimous decision.

The victory notched title defense number four for the two-time champion, her resume including names like Jessica Andrade, Carla Espara, and a couple of W’s over Jedrzejczyk, who was rooting for Zhang in the lead-up.

Dricus du Plessis destroys Sean Strickland’s nose in title fight rematch at UFC 312

“You’re the best, champ. You can do it. Be you,” former foe Jedrzejcyzk told Zhang prior to fighting Suarez.

In the aftermath of UFC 312, the victorious Zhang is officially tied with Jedrzejcyzk for the most title fight wins in the strawweight division at 6. One more successful title defense will see Zhang break the record and tie the inaugural champion for most title defenses in the weight class (5).

Retired UFC Hall of Famer Jedrzejczyk spent the last bit of her career fighting Zhang, the first in a war some deemed the greatest women’s fight of all time in 2020 and then the rematch two years later at UFC 275, which saw Zhang win with a spinning backfist.

Spending a little over 30 minutes of cage time with Zhang, Jedrzejcyzk congratulated her former rival on her continued tear through the division in which she once reigned.

“And Still!!” Jedrzejcyzk wrote on Instagram. “Big congrats @zhangweilimma. What a performance👏🏻”

UFC 312 du Plessis vs. Strickland 2 post-fight press conference live stream

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