Daniel Cormier: ‘Zhang Weili is legit the greatest athlete I think I’ve ever seen’

Final Preventing Championship (UFC) Corridor of Famer Daniel Cormier has excessive reward for his fellow former champion, Zhang Weili.

This Sat. night time (June 11, 2022) at UFC 275 in Kallang, Singapore, followers might be handled to a rematch of one of many biggest fights of all time when Zhang meets previous foe, Joanna Jedrzejczyk. The match-up sees Strawweight royalty colliding two years after their epic first encounter at UFC 248 in March 2020. Battling mightily for 5 straight rounds with no slowing down, Zhang efficiently picked up her lone title protection as champion, incomes a cut up choice nod (watch full fight).

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HISTORY IN THE MAKING! Final Preventing Championship (UFC) will stage its first-ever numbered pay-per-view (PPV) occasion in Southeast Asia with “Teixeira vs. Prochazka” from inside Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore, on Sat., June 11, 2022. In UFC 275’s PPV important occasion, Gentle Heavyweight champion, Glover Teixeira, will lock horns with No. 2-ranked berserker, Jiri Prochazka, whereas girls’s Flyweight champion, Valentina Shevchenko, tangles with No. 5-seeded Taila Santos within the co-feature. And, after all, Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Zhang Weili will run again their epic 2020 “Combat of the Yr,” with the winner seemingly incomes a future Strawweight title shot in opposition to division queenpin, Carla Esparza.

Don’t miss a single second of EPIC face-punching action!

Like each sane combined martial arts (MMA) fan across the globe, Cormier can be excited for half two. Nonetheless, the previous two-division titlist can’t see the sequel outshining the unique.

“I believe it’s gonna be a superb struggle,” Cormier informed MMA Fighting. “I believe we’re gonna see a variety of abilities. I don’t suppose that we’re gonna see that kind of aggression, that kind of head-on collision that we noticed within the first struggle. I believe for Joanna to win, she’s received to be smarter. I believe that within the time away she has acknowledged that and understands that regardless that the boogeywoman is a enjoyable character, at instances, you’ll be able to’t struggle just like the boogeywoman. You gotta be a bit of bit extra sharp in your method. Particularly if you’re preventing — truthfully, Zhang Weili is legit the best athlete I believe I’ve ever seen in my whole life.”

Whereas Zhang has remained energetic with two consecutive bouts in opposition to Rose Namajunas in 2021, Poland’s Jedrzejczyk hasn’t fought since UFC 248 when the 2 carried out in 2020’s Combat of the Yr.

The story for a lot of observers breaking down the rematch spotlight inactivity vs. outcomes. For Zhang, she suffered two losses regardless of being extra energetic than Jedrzejczyk. Within the first struggle with Namajunas, Zhang was dealt a fast knockout loss earlier than the carefully contested rematch noticed China’s most interesting on the flawed facet of the cut up choice.

To beat the still-dangerous “Magnum,” Cormier believes Jedrzejczyk might want to try to channel a few of her extra medical shows, notably seen throughout her title reign from 2015 to 2017.

“She’s so quick, she’s like a ball of muscle,” Cormier stated of Zhang. “She’s simply great. I imply, we’ve seen her do issues that — when you put a basketball in Zhang Weili’s fingers, I’d think about she might shoot it. Baseball? She’s in all probability fairly rattling good. You place her on the monitor and subject staff, she’s in all probability fairly rattling good. So, she’s about as athletic as anybody we’ve ever seen. To beat somebody like that, you’ve received to be good, and I believe Joanna’s gonna try this and struggle possibly a bit of bit slower.”

Do not forget that MMAmania.com will ship LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow protection of all the UFC 275 struggle card proper here, beginning with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches on-line, that are scheduled to start at 6 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard steadiness on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, earlier than the PPV important card begin time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

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