Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Zhang Weili Rematch Set for UFC 275 in Singapore

Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Zhang Weili and Joanna Jedrzejczyk have
verbally agreed to a rematch, which is scheduled to take place June
11 at UFC 275 in Singapore.

Hunter Campbell, the UFC’s chief
business officer, told ESPN’s Marc Raimondi on Saturday the contracts
will be sent out soon to finalize the bout.

They earned Fight of the Night honors
for their first encounter in March 2020, which Zhang won by split
decision after a highly entertaining five-round brawl.

Jedrzejczyk hasn’t entered the Octagon
since that loss, but she fended off rumors of a possible retirement
on multiple occasions while awaiting the right time to return.

Last May, the 34-year-old from Poland told MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin her next fight is the last one of
her current UFC deal and she wanted to make sure to position herself
for a new contract that would make MMA worth the risks.

“It’s stupid what I will say but it’s
not about the money but it’s all about the money,” she said. “I can make this money easily outside the Octagon without
putting my life and health on the line. You know what I’m talking
about.”

A victory over Zhang would likely put
her in position to earn a lucrative title fight against the winner of
the UFC 274 women’s strawweight battle between champion Rose
Namajunas and challenger Carla Esparza.

Zhang is coming off back-to-back losses
to Namajunas in April and November of last year. She’d been on a
21-fight winning streak before that pair of defeats.

She told China’s People Magazine in
January the setbacks didn’t cause her belief to waver.

“Nothing is forever the same, like
how I went from champion to challenger. And my future goal is to go
from a challenger to a champion,” Zhang said.

The rematch with Jedrzejczyk has a high
standard to live up to based on their first matchup, but there’s a
chance it’s worthy of the hype given the importance of the bout to
both fighters.

A men’s light heavyweight championship
fight is scheduled to serve as the main event of the UFC 275 card as Glover Teixeira
defends his belt against Jiri Prochazka.