Both women with big shots in the pocket. She presses Weili Zhang against the cage and lands a knee. Joanna Jedrzejczyk with a jab but Weili Zhang answers with a pair of lefts.

Weili shoots in for a takedown. Jedrzejczyk with a body kick but then eats a jab. Weili (21-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) and Jedrzejczyk (16-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) stood toe to toe for five rounds, exchanging strikes and not backing down in a bout that will go down as an all-time classic, resulting in Weili winning by split decision to retain her strawweight title.By the end of it, Jedrzejczyk was nearly unrecognizable with a bad hematoma causing her entire forehead to swell.Jedrzejczyk opened the fight by, as promised, using a lot of movement to avoid Weili’s aggression and power. Weili with a hard body shot.

The strikes came fast and furious from each side as Weili worked the body, and Jedrzejczyk teed off with combinations.

Joanna Jedrzejczyk with a hard low kick. Jedrzejczyk comes forward but Zhang lands a trip takedown.

She lands a low kick. Weili certainly found her openings, landing clean punches.

Joanna is still defending very well. Joanna Jedrzejczyk is looking confident early. She lands a nice right hand that appears to stun the champ. She lands a hard low kick. She goes to the body with a jab. • Israel Adesanya vs. Yoel Romero • Zhang Weili vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk Joanna switches the position and lands a knee. She lands a left hand followed by a body kick. The ladies begin to stand and trade in the center of the cage. The fighters break and Joanna comes forward with a low kick. Weili’s straight punches did her well, but Jedrzejczyk appeared to be more than comfortable with the power and landed some shots that had Weili briefly on some shaky legs. Unreal. The output of both fighters was absurdly high, but Jedrzejczyk seemed to be more composed and accurate in her approach against Weili’s power shots. Ten seconds left. In the end, the champion prevailed. She breaks free from the cage and they trade low kicks.

That may have broken Joanna’s nose. These are powerful shots from Weili Zhang. The horn sounds to end round three.Round four of the UFC 248 co-main event begins and Weili Zhang goes to the body with a heavy kick. Joanna answers with a hard right hand.

She connects with a left hooka nd then another. The champion connects with a hard low kick and then another. Joanna comes in with a left hand and then a kick to the body. She is circling away now. These are huge shots. A good combination from the former champion.

Joanna answers with a right hand. Spinning back fist from the champ misses the mark. Joanna answers but then eats a right hand.

Weili Zhang, UFC 248 Credit: Rodney James Edgar/Cageside Press In her first defense of the women’s strawweight title, China’s Weili Zhang had drawn perhaps the toughest challenge in the division. She lands a nice left hand. Joanna with a low kick.

Now both connect with hard low kicks. The fifth and final round of the UFC 248 co-main event begins and both women begin the round by exchanging heavy leather. It is also the home of 2X UFC Hall of Fame Champion. Joanna with a nice left hand. Joanna fires back with one of her own. Her nose definitely looks busted. Jedrzejczyk’s chin continued to hold up, though, and the pace of the fight was perfectly suiting her style.

Aleksandar Rakic had his rise in the light heavyweight division paused in December 2019, but now may find himself right back in the mix.

Mallory Martin went nuts after her remarkable comeback. Jedrzejczyk landed some very good strikes, both as the aggressor and the counter-striker, and Weili knew she needed something to change.

Polyana Viana potentially saved her spot on the UFC roster with a much-needed win over Emily Whitmire at UFC on ESPN+ 33. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.Aleksandar Rakic says he’s ready for a shot at the UFC light heavyweight title following his dominant win over former title challenger Anthony Smith.

Guido Cannetti via TKO (punches) at 2:58 of R1: Joanna immediately scrambles to her feet. HEAD-ING HOME. Zhang with a jab. They kept at it down the home stretch, both landing clean to cap off an incredible 25-minute championship fight.“We are all martial artists here,” Weili said through an interpreter in her post-fight interview. She just misses with a right.

Sunday, August 30, 2020