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Jonathan White

Boo.
Chinese UFC star Zhang Weili was the favourite at the bookmakers ahead of Saturday’s fight with former champ “Thug” Rose Namajunas but not with the crowd in Florida.
Zhang, the strawweight champion, was booed before her ring walk and the boos were even more audible before the fight where the strawweight belt was on the line.
This was the first UFC event of the Covid-19 era with a crowd, some 15,000 fans packing into the mask-free zone that was the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville.
The crowd were in full voice by the time the co-main event got going, with the boos for the Chinese fighter equal to the cheers for the Lithuanian-American.


There were more cheers after barely a minute of the first round, with Namajunas securing a KO thanks to a devastating kick to the face.
Whether the boos had an affect on Zhang is neither here nor there - Namajunas won fair and square to reclaim the belt she held from 2017 to 2019 - but what is for sure is that Zhang did not deserve to be booed in the first place.
UFC 261: Zhang Weili’s manager Brian Butler-Au blasts ‘simpleton’ fans for ‘hateful’ treatment of Chinese former champ
She played a straight bat throughout the buildup to this fight and did not get involved in the “better dead than red” narrative fuelled by Namajunas in comments she made to Lithuanian media.
Despite her decision not to rise to the bait, Zhang was not given a fair deal by the crowd and it is hard to believe that this was just booing her because she was fighting an American on home soil, even one that was a crowd favourite.
The backdrop to this fight was one of the Cold War, of America against the Evil Empire, with Communist China replacing the Soviet Union.

Now why are they booing Zhang 🤔
— Sodiq Yusuff (@Super_Sodiq) April 25, 2021

That surely played a part in the crowd reaction to Zhang. Notably, three other Chinese fighters on the card, none of whom made any comment in the run-up to their fights, were also booed.
Fair play to Namajunas afterwards for distancing herself from the comments but the damage was done, if not in distracting from training, at least in turning a crowd against the champion
That is not to say that there is no place for pantomime villains in the UFC. Far from it. Kamaru Usman hammed it up ahead of the main event, where the boos of the crowd as he fought local boy done good Jorge Masvidal were music to his ears.




















View this post on Instagram























A post shared by Weili Zhang 张伟丽 (@zhangweilimma)



He dished out the sweet chin music with that right hammer. No harm done, he revels in it and he plays up to it - “drive home safe”.
“I think we can all agree,” Dana White said at the post-event press conference. “No matter how you feel, the guy is getting booed in there tonight, [but] he’s one of the best ever.”
With Zhang it is different. She’s not part of it all and it seems off that is has come her way. The other UFC fighters pointing to their shock at her, the champion, being booed indicated that something did not feel right.


“I think it’s ridiculous that people are booing Weili,” wrote UFC featherweight Josh Gordon on Twitter.
“Now why are they booing Zhang,” pondered Nigerian-American featherweight Sodiq Yusuff, a stablemate of Zhang and Namajunas at Sucker Punch Entertainment.
“You [expletive] that are booing Zhang Weili after she got KOd ... You know this isn’t about no mma... It’s disgusting and I feel for her ...taking nothing from Rose... she’s amazing... but Cmon .... cmon Jacksonville...We are better than this... f*** man,” wrote Laotian fighter Andre Soukhamthath.

I think its ridiculous that people are booing Weili
— Jared Gordon (@JFlashGordonMMA) April 25, 2021

Those defending the boos on social media pointed to hostile crowds in Brazil where foreign fighters feel the heat from the stands.
Others, such as Sucker Punch Entertainment CEO Brian Butler-Au – Zhang’s manager – had no issues with the “booing or rooting for Rose” but was livid at the other treatment of his client.
“Zhang’s been nothing but a stellar ambassador for MMA. The simpleton mindset shown the night she competed as a guest in our country was disgraceful,” the American wrote on Instagram.




















View this post on Instagram























A post shared by Brian Butler-Au (@suckerpunchent)



It was 412 days since Zhang and Joanna Jedrzejczyk battered seven shades out of each other for their unanimous Fight of the Year. She should have been riding that popularity on her return to the Octagon.
What changed in the meantime for the champ?
It is hard to look too far past the wave of Anti-Asian hate in the US fuelled by the pandemic and the testy relationship between China and the US that has permeated sport. That seems like a valid factor, with Zhang cast as the villain through no fault of her own.
UFC 261: Rose Namajunas says ‘better dead than red’ ahead of title fight vs China’s Zhang Weili
Maybe it was just good old patriotism no doubt fuelled by a rare night out with a few drinks in the belly that meant they could not lay off the boos.
Maybe, maybe not, the booing was undeserved whatever their reason and there is no place for the “hateful rhetoric” toward the Chinese that Butler-Au called out.
We will see how the crowd treat Zhang when Dana White gives her the rematch that she demands.


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UFC 261: Zhang Weili did not deserve Florida fans’ boos – whatever their reason

Rose Namajunas of the United States celebrates after beating Zhang Weili of China during the women’s strawweight title fght at UFC 261. Photo: AFP

UFC 261: Zhang Weili says strawweight strap belongs to her – ‘I will come back to seize it’

Zhang Weili gets finished by Rose Namajunas at UFC 261. Photo: AFP

Zhang Weili after losing to Rose Namajunas. Photo: USA Today

UFC 261: Zhang Weili’s manager Brian Butler-Au blasts ‘simpleton’ fans for ‘hateful’ treatment of Chinese former champ

Rose Namajunas celebrates as the referee kneels over Zhang Weili at UFC 261. Photo: AP

Rose Namajunas reacts after defeating Zhang Weili. Photo: USA TODAY Sports

Rose Namajunas cries after her win over Zhang Weili at UFC 261. Photo: AFP

UFC 261: Zhang Weili calls for Rose Namajunas rematch, Dana White says ‘it makes a lot of sense’

Zhang Weili reacts after loosing to Rose Namajunas at UFC 261. Photo: Jasen Vinlove/USA TODAY Sports

Zhang Weili gets finished by Rose Namajunas. Photo: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

UFC 261: Rose Namajunas head kick KOs Zhang Weili to reclaim strawweight title, and declares ‘I’m the best’

Rose Namajunas celebrates after beating Zhang Weili to reclaim thestrawweight title at UFC 261. Photo: AFP

Rose Namajunas kicks Zhang Weili en route to a first-round TKO. Photo: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Rose Namajunas punches Zhang Weili to secure the finish. Photo: AFP

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Cub Swanson punches Daniel Pineda in their featherweight bout at the UFC Apex on December 12, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photos: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Cub Swanson ducks a punch from Daniel Pineda. https://www.instagram.com/p/COLP-v-Fsgc/

Sport

Martial Arts

Mixed Martial Arts


Fellow UFC fighters posted on social media of their shock at Chinese former champ being booed before and after Rose Namajunas KO
Backdrop of Lithuanian-American’s ‘better dead than red’ comments, China-US ties and anti-Asian hate left a sour taste to booing



Backdrop of Rose Namajunas’ ‘better dead than red’ comments, China-US ties and anti-Asian hate left a sour taste to booing of Zhang Weili at UFC 261.


Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Column

The Takedown

.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}The Takedown | UFC 261: Zhang Weili did not deserve Florida fans’ boos – whatever their reason

The Takedown | UFC 261: Zhang Weili did not deserve Florida fans’ boos – whatever their reason