UFC

Pat Barry slams comments of Rose Namajunas avoiding title fight against Zhang Weili

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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.

China’s first Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champion Zhang Weili attends a training session at the UFC performance institute in Shanghai on June 15, 2020. (Photo by Hector RETAMAL / AFP) (Photo by HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images)

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:

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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.

Rose Namajunas celebrates after her split-decision victory over Jessica Andrade of Brazil in their strawweight fight during the UFC 251 event at Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island on July 12, 2020 on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

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.

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Saiyed Adeem Karim

Ditching a corporate job to follow a dream isn't easy, but when football comes calling, who can say no? Been following the beautiful game since 1998. Liverpool addict, F1 fanatic!