Zhang Weili should not be influenced by audience reaction, says fellow Chinese fighter Jingliang Li.
A fighter the calibre of Zhang Weili must tune out the crowd ahead of her Rose Namajunas rematch at UFC 268.
Namajunas vs. Zhang 2 serves as the co-main event for UFC 268, taking place inside Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York on Sat., Nov. 6 via ESPN+ pay-per-view (PPV). Zhang, the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Women’s Strawweight champion, accused Namajunas of turning the crowd against her with anti-communist rhetoric targeting Zhang. “The Leech” Jingliang Li knows a thing or two about getting booed by fans.
“I think it’s normal because it’s not my first time competing in a foreign country. It’s not the first time the audience may boo me. I think it’s very normal,” Jingliang told MMAMania.com prior to his fight with Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 267. “It’s not about how people support me or not. The only thing that matters is if you trust yourself, if your team supports you.
“A great team, a great athlete won’t be defeated by all the booing.”
Jingliang was steamrolled by Chimaev (watch highlights), which took place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. on Sat., Oct. 30.
UFC 268 is headlined by a bad blood UFC Welterweight title rematch pitting defending champion Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington. Other big bouts on the card include Justin Gaethje vs. Michael Chandler, Shane Burgos vs. Billy Quarantillo, Frankie Edgar vs. Marlon Vera and Al Iaquinta vs. Bobby Green, plus the UFC debut of former two-division GLORY kickboxing champion Alex Pereira.
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