UFC 248: Zhang Weili retains title in war for the ages against Joanna Jedrzejczyk

They’d promised us a classic and how they duly delivered. By the end of five torrid rounds, China’s Zhang Weili had her arm lifted in triumph, retaining her UFC strawweight crown after throwing everything she possibly could at Poland’s Joanna Jedrzejczyk. The judges had it split 47-48, 48-47, 48-47 in the Chinese fighter’s favour – and the packed house finally had time to take a breath. “The greatest fight I have ever called,” screamed Joe Rogan into the microphone afterwards. “I went a long way to get here due to the coronavirus back home. I hope everyone comes together and fights together and we beat it together,” said Zhang. “I wasn’t really sure that I got it. It was a great performance.” Both women were battered and bruised – almost beyond belief – but somehow unbroken after mostly standing up and throwing every single thing at each other for every second made available at the T-Mobile Arena on Saturday night. But it was the Chinese 30-year-old who landed the biggest shots more consistently as she improved her record to 21-1, and her winning streak in this often breathtaking sport to a cool 21-0. The crowd simply went nuts, and were on their feel in unison in an instant when the final buzzer sounded. The first round had set the scene for what was to follow, with the pair dancing – for a little while – and the coming together and letting rip. It had taken Zhang half the round to close the space and start regularly landing heavy shots that had Jedrzejczyk back-pedalling. But the former champ had landed a few of her own – including one after the bell that ensured the temperature would rise in the second. Again in the second the pair traded some ferocious blows, with Zhang looking to be edging her way in front, despite taking a kick to the head near the bell. And so it continued, back and forth, blow for blow, until they were staggering and bloodied. The rise of the coronavirus in her homeland – and beyond – had forced Zhang to move fight camp to Thailand and then to Abu Dhabi and she freely admitted that the destruction of her routine, and the worry about what was happening back home, had weighed heavily when all she wanted to do was to fight. Jedrzejczyk was only ever coming to Las Vegas to do exactly the same. “She fought a great fight,” said the 32-year-old (16-4) whose face had swollen to more than twice its size in the aftermath of this two-woman war. Take nothing away from her. Not one thing. The only question left hanging in the air was when will we witness the sequel? Such was Zhang's dominance in winning the title – via 42-second knockout of then-champ Jessica “Bate Estaca” Andrade (20-7) of Brazil in Shenzhen last August – that really the only imponderable was whether or not that was a one-off affair. Her record suggested not. And her record proved right. But boy it was a closely run affair. Jedrzejczyk had five times defended the strawweight crown over a reign that lasted some 966 days. She’d revert to form in the lead-up to the event, labelling the Chinese fighter a “little girl” and saying she was overconfident and cocky. It was all part of a carefully manufactured effort to get under Zhang’s skin. Fight together. #ChinaStrong #UFC248 pic.twitter.com/vJ5liRc25B — UFC (@ufc) March 8, 2020 All that was forgotten by the end as Zhang called the fight a celebration of the spirit of martial arts. By then no one in the room needed any more convincing. There was no such joy for compatriot Li “The Leech” Jingliang (17-6) two bouts earlier, when the 31-year-old couldn’t get to grips with Neil Magny (22-7). The American used his range and height advantages to stymie any attack the Chinese welterweight tried to muster – and then countered with combinations and a series of takedowns that ensured the unanimous decision would go his way. Li had looked to have rocked the one-time top-15 ranked Magny in the first with a combination that ended with a huge elbow but couldn’t press home any advantage. If anything it seemed to spark Magny into action and across the second he caught Li a number of times, finding his mark with both hands and starting to wear his man down against the cage whenever he could. The 32-year-old Magny had the Leech gassed going into the third pressed home his advantage. Asian interest in the big card got off to a perfect start with Mongolian bantamweight Danaa Batgerel (7-2) finding his mark with a roundhouse left that laid Argentina’s Guido Cannetti (8-5) out as the clock showed 3:01 in the first. The 30-year-old had been impressive on debut in Shenzhen last August, losing but picking up a performance bonus for his contribution in a slugfest against China’s Heili “The Mongolian Knight” Alateng (14-7). Batgerel came out throwing everything once again, connecting almost at will before the knockout blow landed. “I wasn’t nervous at all, I was ready for this,” he said. “I’m very proud that I was on such a big card and I’m happy to finally fight in the US. I would love to fight more often and show the world who I am. I love this sport and training, so hopefully you will see me soon again.”