UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas will defend her 115-pound title against former division titleholder Zhang Weili as part of the upcoming UFC 268 pay-per-view (PPV) event, scheduled for Sat., Nov. 6, 2021 inside Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Namajunas reclaimed the crown by smashing Weili at UFC 261 via first-round head kick, a thunderous finish that sent “Magnum” to her first defeat inside the Octagon. But it seems that performance was not enough to make “Thug” the odds-on betting favorite.
The bookies over at BetMGM have them deadlocked at -110 apiece.
Namajunas (10-4) originally lost the strawweight title against Jessica Andrade at UFC 237, who then surrendered the strap to Weili. “Thug” remained sidelined for over a year, then returned to action with a split-decision victory over “Bate Estaca” in their UFC 251 rematch.
Weili (21-2) quickly jumped out to a 5-0 start for UFC, which includes her “Fight of the Year” against Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 248. “Magnum” seemed unable to accept her loss to Namajunas and campaigned for an immediate rematch, which left top contender Carla Esparza out in the cold.
UFC 268 is expected to be headlined by the welterweight rematch between Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington, who go to war for “The Nigerian Nightmare’s” 170-pound title. Elsewhere on the card, Justin Gaethje looks to get back into the lightweight title chase at the expense of former Bellator MMA champion Michael Chandler.
To see who else is fighting at UFC 268 click here.