Women’s Strawweight
Champion: Rose Namajunas (def. Zhang Weili via KO)
Outlook: “Thug” Rose did it again, recapturing her title in spectacular fashion with a head kick against Zhang Weili. In her second title reign, a bevy of challengers lurk. Yan Xiaonan has shown she is of the elite in the division and could very well deserve a shot right now. Same goes for former champion Carla Esparza, who has put together four wins in a row and owns a submission win over Namajunas from 2014 to earn the inaugural strawweight title. A crop of rising contenders is coming as well, notably Mackenzie Dern and Marina Rodriguez, a pair of fighters who’ve shown excellence in their respective specialties, as well as improvement in what would be considered their lesser areas. And, of course, there’s the Joanna Jedrzejczyk of it all. The former strawweight queen had a fair shout at a rematch with Zhang after their epic battle in 2020, but how Namajunas’ win impacts her is interesting. Namajunas famously beat Jedrzejczyk twice back when that seemed nearly impossible, so Jedrzejczyk might need to score one more win before getting another chance at Namajunas. Regardless, Namajunas appears to have put her considerable talent as well as her thoughtful approach to the game together with real synergy, making her a terrifying challenge for all comers and a beautiful sight to watch in the Octagon for all viewers.
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