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Strawweight champion Rose Namajunas floor out a profitable protection of the title she received in April from Zhang Weili at UFC 268, receiving her belt from actress and MMA fan Halle Berry within the octagon after her win.
There can be no repeat of the swift conclusion to the primary assembly between the pair, when Namajunas beat Weili courtesy of a first-round head kick at UFC 261 in Jacksonville.
As an alternative, Weili held Namajunas off with a tactically astute efficiency that noticed her arguably take the primary spherical – if not each of the primary two rounds – and end the third delivering punishment from a mount.
That testified to the standard of the Chinese language fighter’s wrestling, though Namajunas spent a lot of the fourth aggressively pursuing her opponent, maybe incomes the spherical by peppering Weili with physique pictures.
A takedown by Namajunas set the tone for the fifth spherical, which Weili spent with a lot of her again on the ground because the title holder tried to pressure an early conclusion.
‘Thug’ was rewarded as she secured a break up choice victory to retain the belt in a much more difficult contest than the one she confronted in her earlier struggle with Weili.
New York’s Madison Sq. Backyard, the place Namajunas first received the title from Joanna Jedrzejczyk in 2017, now holds extra joyful reminiscences for the fearsome 29-year-old.
Yeap, Namajunas deserved that win.She obtained extra strikes than Zhang Wei Li. Stayed on high longer, too.It hurts. It actually does.Touche.
— H (@ohmbow) November 7, 2021
“It was totally different,” she stated afterwards, having been handed the belt by Berry, who starred in an MMA-themed movie, ‘Bruised’, in 2020.
“I used to be fairly assured I received it. The primary couple of rounds had been fairly shut and I wasn’t certain what was happening.
“I had a sense it was going to be a method more durable struggle [than the first meeting between the fighters.
“I’m pretty healthy, as of right now, so I could probably get back in there – we’ll see.”
Fair Play to Weili but man, Namajunas is s a championship fighter . She knows how to win. She might had loss the first 3 rounds easily. But she won the 4 and dominated the 5. You can’t take the belt from her.#UFC268
— 🗣️🔴 (@afckata) November 7, 2021
A Weili fan conceded that Namajunas “deserved that win.” “She got more strikes than Zhang,” they added. “Stayed on top longer, too. It hurts. It really does.”
Another viewer said: “Fair Play to Weili but man, Namajunas is a championship fighter.
“She knows how to win. She might have loss the first three rounds easily. But she won the fourth and dominated the fifth. You can’t take the belt from her.”
Weili was magnanimous in defeat. “I’m just so grateful to be able to show my talent and my skill in Madison Square Garden,” she said.
“I’m just so happy that there are so many Chinese fans who have come over to support me.”
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