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The main card of UFC 275 has many excellent fights and the halfway point of the pay-per-view has a very high-level strawweight fight between Zhang Weili and Joanna Jedrzejczyk. There is a lot of pressure on both women considering how great the first scrap was. There is no exaggeration, it is largely considered the greatest women's MMA fight of all time and one of the greatest fights of all time. That's a lot to live up to and both women are well aware of the pressure. This one's only three rounds and there is a title shot on the line for the winner. The stakes are high and there are true title implications in this one. Weili and Jedrzejczyk both have a rich history as UFC strawweight champions and both have made it clear that they only want the biggest fights possible in the division. The pressure is truly on Jedrzejczyk in this one as she lost the first fight and this could be her last opportunity to get back to the title now that Rose Namajunas no longer has the belt. Either Poland takes this one or China gets the next title shot. The pressure is on.
Zhang Weili is coming off of her first-ever losing heading into UFC 275. Her first career loss was in her pro debut and she wouldn't lose again until her second title defense. Rose Namajunas beat her two times with the first by knockout and the second a super close split decision. Her UFC career has been very impressive with a great fight against Joanna Jedrzejczyk and a quick first-round TKO against Jessica Andrade. Weili is a very well-rounded fighter that combines kickboxing with a good ground game. She loves to stand and trade and her ground game is a useful tool to use depending on the matchup. The former strawweight champion has only been in the UFC for about four years but she's already cemented her position as a top fighter that will almost always be in the title picture. She'll be hoping three rounds is enough to take out Jedrzejczyk and earn a title shot against Carla Esparza.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk is in a very tricky spot in her career and it seems like this is her last shot at getting back in the championship conversation. She had one of the most dominant runs as UFC champion and was dominating all of her opponents. Her career took a turn in 2017 after she lost to Rose Namajunas. Since then, she's beaten, Tecia Torres and Michelle Waterson, both by decision. Her losses have come to Zhang Weili, Namajunas, and Valentina Shevchenko. Those are some serious names. She took over two years off after losing to Weili and many thought she would retire from fighting. It's tough to figure out where she is in her career after taking so much time off. This is going to be her last stand and the three rounds mean she'll need to be on top of her game in order to beat Weili. Jedrzejczyk sees a path to the title as she beat Carla Esparza back in 2015. She'll want to turn back the clock and become the champion again. It all starts at UFC 275.
Here are the UFC 275 odds, featuring our Zhang Weili-Joanna Jedrzejczyk prediction, courtesy of FanDuel.
UFC 275 Odds: Zhang Weili-Joanna Jedrzejczyk Odds
Zhang Weili (-168)
Joanna Jedrzejczyk (+136)
Over 2.5 rounds (-310)
Under 2.5 rounds (+225)
How Zhang Weili Wins The Fight At UFC 275
One can't help but figure wrestling is going to be a big factor in this one. Zhang Weili has been working with Henry Cejudo in Arizona and it's clear that wrestling would feature heavily against a striker like Joanna Jedrzejczyk. The three rounds favor her as the Polish fighter has able to find success in the later rounds of their first fight. Mixing in the wrestling to go all along with elbows on the feet will be huge for Weili to find success at UFC 275. Leading the dance and peppering leg kicks will stop some of Jedrzejczyk's aggression. Jedrzejczyk will be looking to start fast so Weili will need to score takedowns to break the momentum. The speed will be a big factor as well. Zhang wins a hard-fought decision that wasn't as exciting as the first fight.
How Joanna Jedrzejczyk Wins The Fight At UFC 275
Joanna Jedrzejczyk is going to have to get going early in this one. The former strawweight champion found a lot of success in the last two rounds of their first fight but she won't have that luxury in this one. The layoff is going to be a factor as she may be rusty going into the first round. She'll have to control things on the feet and avoid the takedown. The defense was a problem last time out and she'll have to be more careful this time around. The Polish fighter controls things on the feet and takes more control the longer the fight goes. Keeping the fight off the ground leads to her winning a decision this time around.
Final Zhang Weili-Joanna Jedrzejczyk Prediction & Pick
Wrestling is going to be a big factor in this fight and that's why it favors Zhang Weili. The Chinese fighter is going to pick things up early as ring rust is expected from Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Zhang's wrestling will be her biggest tool to break the momentum and make sure she's controlling the action. Jedrzejczyk is going to have many big moments on the feet and that's going to make this one very tough to score. Ultimately, the pick is with Weili considering the ring rust and the wrestling factor.
Final Zhang Weili-Joanna Jedrzejczyk Pick: Zhang Weili wins by decision.
The main card of UFC 275 has many excellent fights and the halfway point of the pay-per-view has a very high-level strawweight fight between Zhang Weili and Joanna Jedrzejczyk. There is a lot of pressure on both women considering how great the first scrap was.
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