Rose Namajunas was set to face Zhang Weili for the UFC Women’s Strawweight title but seemed to have backed out

The UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion, Zhang Weili, is set to defend her title against former champion Rose Namajunas next year.

That should be a fight for the ages as Thug Rose is one of the best in the history of the women’s division. However, Dana White suggested that Thug Rose wasn’t interested in a title fight and he was planning to set up Zhang vs Carla Esparza.

That would be a decent fight too but it wouldn’t have the weight that Rose vs Zhang carries. It also is a bit of a shock given that Rose is always looking for a fight and it is extremely weird that a top contender would want to give up on a shot at the title.

However, Pat Barry, the fiancé and coach of Namajunas, was asked about this by ESPN journalist Ariel Helwani.

Barry dismissed such rumours of Rose backing out of the clash and went on to say that they are willing to clear up such confusion:

I asked Rose Namajunas’ coach/fiancé Pat Barry about this.

His response:
“That is absolutely not true. We absolutely want the title fight.
Who would turn down a title fight? We just dont want to air this out publicly. If there was some confusion they can call us to clear it up." https://t.co/qoxmzLGyxk

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) December 16, 2020

A fight for the ages?

Zhang had an incredible fight for the belt as she defended her title against Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Joanna also picked up some serious head injuries while the fight is considered as a runner for the best of the year.

Rose vs Zhang could also follow in that same vein. Namajunas defeated her arch-nemesis, Jessica Andrade, in her last fight and she seems to be in great touch.

Zhang, for her part, has only lost one fight in her career and it will be interesting to see how this battle goes.

Mackenzie Dern, who is also coming off an impressive win at UFC 256, also had her prediction for this fight.

While she claimed both stars have bits going for them, Dern was backing Namajunas to claim the title from Zhang.

More UFC news

• Tony Ferguson proves he is inhuman after sharing update post brutal armbar from UFC 256
• Marc Goddard slams “sickening” Russian MMA fight between 529lb man and 139lb woman
• Jason Herzog hilariously trolls fan upset over Deiveson Figueiredo point deduction at UFC 256

Follow our dedicated UFC page for instant UFC news and updates