Zhang Weili will defend her women's strawweight title against former champ Rose Namajunas at UFC 261: Usman vs. Masvidal 2 on Saturday, April 24 in Jacksonville, Florida. This event is one of five fights on the main pay-per-view card. Weili is 21-1 in her career, while Namajunas is 9-4. There are a total of five fights on the main card on UFC 261: Usman vs. Masvidal 2, with the headliner a bout between Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal. There are also a total of eight fights on the preliminary card with four on ESPN/ESPN+ and four on ESPN2/ESPN+. Let's look at the bout between Weili and Namajunas and UFC predictions.
UFC 261: Usman vs. Masvidal 2 Betting
Zhang Weili (21-1, 5-0 UFC)
Weili came into the UFC with a record of 16-1 and she has five wins and no losses in the UFC. She is coming off a split decision win against Joanna Jedrzejczyk in March of last year as she defended her strawweight title. She won the title in August of 2019 when she won by TKO against Jessica Andrade. Her other three UFC wins were a unanimous decision win against Tecia Torres in March of 2019, a submission of Jessica Aguilar in November of 2018 and a unanimous decision win against Danielle Taylor in August of 2018. Weili has been a pro since 2013 and she has 10 wins by TKO/KO and seven by submission. She has 10 first round finishes.
Rose Namajunas (9-4, 7-3 UFC)
Namajunas came into the UFC with a record of 2-1 and she has seven wins and three losses in the UFC. In her last five fights she is 4-1. She won a split decision last time out against Jessica Andrade in July of last year. She was knocked out by Andrade in May of 2019. She won the women's strawweight title in November of 2017 against Joanna Jedrzejcyk by TKO and then beat Jedrzejcyk again in April of 2018. Namajunas has been a pro since 2013 and she has one win by knockout and five by submission. He has three first round finishes.
Namajunas made some comments recently putting this fight into an America vs. China type of thing, but Weili has not been affected by the comments. Her strength and conditioning coach, Ruben Payan Jr. said that the UFC is where people come together and there is no outside drama regarding this fight.
Striking Stats
Strikes landed per minute: Weili 6.38/ Namajunas 4.13
Striking Accuracy: Weili 45% / Namajunas 40%
Strikes absorbed per minute: Weili 4.43/ Namajunas 3.98
Defense: Weili 53% / Namajunas 60%
Grappling Stats
Takedown average: Weili 1.26/ Namajunas 1.91
Takedown Accuracy: Weili 23% / Namajunas 53%
Takedowns defended: Weili 100% / Namajunas 50%
Submission average: Weili 0.5/ Namajunas 0.8
UFC Picks
Weili is an excellent fighter, but I do have respect for Namajunas. I think Weili will get this win, but I do not want to lay the 2-1 price. I think the better choice is the rounds. Weili is capable of getting a finish, but Namajunas rarely gets finishes. This fight has all the looks of one that goes to a decision, so I will take the rounds to go over the total.
UFC 261: Usman vs. Masvidal 2 Card & Odds
Welterweight - Jorge Masvidal +335 vs. Kamaru Usman -439
Women's Strawweight - Rose Namajunas +173 vs. Zhang Weili -210
Women's Flyweight - Jessica Andrade +322 vs. Valentina Shevchenko -419
Middleweight - Chris Weidman -127 vs. Uriah Hall +103
Light Heavyweight - Anthony Smith +162 vs. Jimmy Crute -196
Bantamweight - Kevin Natividad +154 vs. Danaa Batgerel -186
Middleweight - Karl Roberson +118 vs. Brendan Allen -142
Flyweight - Jeffrey Molina -107 vs. Qileng Aori -117
Women's Strawweight - Na Liang +162 vs. Ariane Carnelossi -196
Lightweight - Rodrigo Vargas +201 vs. Zhu Rong -250
Welterweight - Alex Oliveira +134 vs. Randy Brown -162
Welterweight - Stefan Sekulic +200 vs. Dwight Grant -245
Bantamweight - Jamey Simmons vs. Johnny Munoz
Featherweight - Patrick Sabatini -225 vs. Tristan Connelly +184
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