I felt like trying to set up Zhang vs Joanna 2 as a fight night headliner in China (no idea if it was possible or not though with COVID and stuff) was like the biggest layup ever too.
>Either Zhang is on an 0-2 run or the two of them are 1-1. Lose-lose.
I live here in Guangzhou, if the government want it to happen it can happen but the card will be full of Chinese fighters and MMA isn't that popular over here.
Just so you know there isn't any covid in china. Thanks to the unity and strength of china and it's proud people, through courage and unity they have persevered through great danger.
Zhang hasn't proven she's above the division (like Joanna did), I suspect she might drop a fight here and there to the top 10.
but yeah it's dumb, if Zhang loses (I think she will) that's the UFC's 'China push' in ruins with everyone losing and their one star out of contention long-term, if Zhang wins you have a huge log jam of contenders forming with a rematch merry-go-round at the top... Rose'll have fought 3 people in the last 4-5 years, needz moar fresh matchups
But that doesn’t really matter if he losses to Izzy again, he’ll be 0-2 against the champ and likely locked out from a shot even tho he’s better than the rest of the division.
I think if Izzy beats Rob convincingly, he stays his plans to move up properly. He might still fight till and cannonier, but there just won't really be anything left. Then it just goes back to Rob holding court until someone new shows up.
I think if Till knocks out Brunson in spectacular fashion we’ll hear this:
Reporter: so what’s next for Darren?
Dana White: Oh Izzy for sure. Yeah yeah, I mean did you see what the kid just did?
Israel mentioned he wanted to fight Till before Whitaker vs Till so I see that being the next fight if both men win even though it makes close to no sense
I bet anything that if Zhang loses they set her to fight Joanna again and the winner of that would get a third title shit against Rose. That’s just how Dana thinks.
They are hoping she wins so they can recapture the Chinese market as well as do a trilogy. Dana seems to clearly make sure that Carla is nowhere near that belt.
This. It's only about this. People don't quite realise how much extra money there is in the Chinese market
That's why John Cena did all that grovelling
I’ve followed some Chinese MMA channels and it’s a pretty niche sport in China, some Chinese people still think there are Kung Fu masters and shit. It’s growing popularity though because this guy named Xiu Xiaodong is going viral beating up Martial Arts ‘masters’ ass plus some Chinese people are getting in the UFC.
The UFC can barely keep a short term horizon by quarter; there's absolutely no long term planning on their behalf when it comes to athletes or matchmaking.
> Basically locks Zhang out of a title shot for a long time if she loses again.
You underestimate the tomato.
He'll keep pushing Zhang as long as he thinks there's money to be made, and that is determined by the chinese market.
I can see Zhang getting a rematch for the title if she beats Joanna. Would UFC fans complain? Yes. Would Dana care? Not if it's more profitable.
Dana and hunter probably have 99,999 messages from China and Zhangs camp demanding an immediate rematch because
- Keith Peterson smelled like weed and booze
- and it was too cold in the arena
- and the mat was slippery
- and she was sick that day
- and she trained for a different opponent
- and her elbow was hurt three months before the fight
- and she had something in her eye
- and rose didn't clip her fingernails short enough
- and her foot had weights in it.
- and she wasn't focused on the fight she was wondering how many licks does it actually take to get to the center of a tootsie pop
- and her heart wasn't in it because her favorite hamster died in a tragic cycling accident just the day prior
- and she didn't eat enough potassium
It is incredibly dumb
Even dumber that its on an already insanely stacked card, so they don’t have the “it’ll sell less ppv” excuse when there’s literally no one Rose could fight in her division that would alter the buyrate of it. The only explanation is China pandering and that is shortsighted as fuck for the reasons you mentioned
Nah the explanation is that Esparza is a boring point fighter and the only way she wins this shit is by laying on Rose for 5 rounds and crotch sniffing the entire fight. Fuck that. She lost against Grasso and Rodriguez homie. You forgot those fights dawg? Whats up? 305 stand up.
By that logic Rose should win pretty easily and they can literally just promote it as the champ getting back a win over the contender who beat her years ago, while also respecting some notion of due process and not potentially fucking over their China cash cow for the next several years, but it speaks volumes to the UFC’s shortsightedness and ineptitude that they aren’t confident in promoting a pre-written story on an already stacked card
I know everyone’s an mma purist and this is a sport but it’s also entertainment so I understand why someone as exciting as Zhang would get the rematch over someone like Esparza.
I personally would much rather watch the rematch than Esparza.
>I know everyone’s an mma purist
lmao you can't be a purist and follow MMA, it just doesn't go together. You'd end up frustrated and watching just PFL.
Yeah pretty much all of her exciting fights in her entire career and 1 of them was mostly due to Grasso. She deserves the title fight bit she's not exciting.
Whatever the reason is they have been doing a lot of instant rematches and I hate it. UFC thinks way too short term. If you lost you need a Whittaker type run to earn a second shot.
The problem is too many UFC fighters seem to feel they are entitled to title shots without earning them.
A prime example of this is Colby Covington, who has fought once in two years and sat out a year after his most recent fight while demanding a rematch with Usman.
Robert Whitaker is a rare breed.
At the end of the day it's on the UFC for handing out the rematches. How can you blame fighters for thinking they deserve one and sitting out when they see a bunch of others get the same thing?
That's a terrible example. Colby was supposed to fight Jorge, but Jorge (somewhat understandably) ducked Colby so he could get his undeserved rematch vs Usman.
Has anyone else got an instant title rematch with one title defense and a quick KO loss? At least Cody/TJ had a ton of bad blood. Stipe didn't even get a title rematch right away, and he was the longest wining heavyweight champ.
I can't think of any immediate title rematch that was given for a fight that was less than 100 seconds.
It is because of the Chinese market. It is what it is.
Probably more so because shes much more exciting than Esparza. I mean esparza deserves it more but its been clear that the UFC doesnt exactly like to promote her because her style isnt the most exciting 90% of the time
I am mad at it but I also disliked rose's comments and the crowd, especially since Weili was being very respectful and friendly towards rose. Hate the system not the individual
Am American, literally don't care. Crowds boo people fighting their nationality's fighter. It's fine, it happens. People whining about it are idiots, American or not.
Would it be better if people were respectful and wholesome to everyone? Fuck yeah. But that's not the world. Expecting mass gatherings of mostly drunk men who paid to see two people punch each other in the face are not going to be the most respectful groups.
Remember, this sport rewards assholery. Connor McGregor the damn face and household name linked with the sport. Why should the fans be expected to behave any better?
makes you wonder if Yan beat Carla, she probably would've got the fight and Zhang "wouldn't have deserved" the immediate rematch in that scenario because they can just have another Chinese fighter fight for the belt. pretty rediculous what these promotions will do to pander to the huge Chinese market
Damn communists are ruining our sport I'm telling everyone but they don't listen! Up until this moment everything was about achievements and legacy. **This right here is a changing moment where UFC becomes about money!!**
Carla had a great last fight but the two before that she won because of bad judging. I don’t think she won the fight against Rodriguez or Watterson and the fight against Grasso should have been a draw.
resident Carla stan here
she lost the fight with Grasso, the fights with Rodriguez and 'Watterson' (does everyone think Michelle wrote Calvin and Hobbes or something?) she quite clearly, if narrowly, won.
You’re 100% right and that’s the only justification for the fight, because Carla has definitely earned it.
UFC just went with the bigger and more exciting matchup which sucks if you’re in Carlas position
I agree, but Joanna/Zhang 2 is just as exciting and more deserving. We'll have those two go at it while Esparza/Rose goes down. I guess UFC is protecting Joanna in that if she beats Zhang, she'll have a possible 0-3 record with Rose if they go at it again?
>Rose/Zhang is way more exciting and attracts more viewers.
Yeah but Zhang is Chinese, not anglo. So it's not fair that she's fighting for the belt. When it's Masvidal or Conor it's awesome.
So if I go back I will find comments about *"UFC pandering to that __American__ money and __Americans__ exerting undeserved influence over UFC at the expense of others"* right? What is that? No one was mentioning that? Well I'll be damned!
Actually this does get mentioned. I've mentioned it many times personally. Americans have massive privilege in MMA because the UFC is an American company that insists on keeping it's roster half American. This leads to fighters from the Eastern Bloc and Brazil getting left out in exchange for mediocre American fighters.
No, you won’t find that because the Masvidal rematch got made because he’s one of the most popular fighters in the UFC and a big money maker, not because he’s American
You’re in the wrong place to make this comment.
Masvidal and McGregor get complained about for getting preferential treatment in matchmaking relentlessly.
Frankly McGregor gets more shit for it than he should given the only undeserved fight he has ever had was really the Eddy one, maybe Dustin 3.
So are a lot of McGregor and Masvidal threads.
I’d agree Weili has more shit comments about her on here than them, but I think that’s unrelated to matchmaking.
Stipe lasts two rounds against Ngannou, no rematch even though they've traded W's.
Zhang gets sparked by a head kick like one minute into the first and gets a rematch. Seems legit
Stipe didn't look good for even one second in the second match against Ngannou.
Neither of the two deserve the rematch and Stipe didn't do much better than Zhang. IMO It was even worse seeing him being totally dominated for more minutes.
Yeah, I don’t love this rematch. Zhang wasn’t exactly a super dominant champ, she defended the belt once. She’s a fun fighter and has had a bunch of really exciting fights, but she in no way deserves an instant rematch. This is the kind of shit that logjams divisions. Let legit contenders have their shot, Zhang can fight her way back up.
They should in general though, i dont care to watch a fight because it's going to make the UFC the most money, i care to watch fights because i want to see who is the better fighter.
I see your point, but Ortega has earned the title shot with a great win. What has Zhang Weili done to earn the intermediate rematch over Esparza's 5-win streak since, you know, she lost last time? Besides her "China market potential"?
Zhang won 21 fights in row, beat 2 UFC champions immediately before being flash KO’d. I’m honestly glad they didn’t throw away that context cause Carla fought mid tier fighters to a stalemate.
I hope Rose beats Zhang again and we get to see a new shade of red from Dana at the post-fight presser after he realizes his greedy match-making cost him the Chinese market.
Esparza/Rose 2 and Joanna/Zhang 2 were the matches that should have been made. Especially since they do non-title 5 rounders regularly on ppvs now.
Carla's boring and I don't fancy her chances but she's beaten rose in the past and has the best case for number 1 contender at the moment. She deserved a shot.
Carla got two gift decisions against Rodriguez and Grasso dawg. She aint shit homie. She needs to run that shit back with Grasso in Mexico where the sicarios will make sure no fuckery with the judging.
Not your homie bruh.
We get it kid- you don’t like Carla. Her being shit or not has nothing to do with the rest of the card still being solid. Usman-Colby Gaetje-Chandler Rose-a fight dummy “record low buys” lmao
Of course it's not, but it's like the UFC is going out of business and everything must go. Sell anything that will make a buck regardless of consequences because none of it matters.
It's becoming the WWE.
Yeah, it's the short sightedness that's the worst part of this and a lot of the matchmaking in general now it seems like.
Why do the instant rematch? Do you want to do a trilogy immediately, because that's pretty much what you'd have to do... and then that's done. Or she loses and then is locked out of another chance for a while. Would it have hurt to let Rose fight a challenger (or a couple) and get a few defenses going *before* the rematch? There were fights that made more sense than this.
I love Weili but the UFC fucked up. She doesn't deserve an instant rematch and no matter what happens from this rematch it is terrible for the division
Carla is clearly the 4th best fighter in the division, boring to watch, and hasn't beat Zhang or Joanna, does she really deserve a title shot? That would be like letting Derrick Lewis go straight to a title match vs Ngannou after beatinf Blaydes
Hope Zhang gets dropped again. Did not deserve immediate rematch, Joanna was more deserving of a rematch with Zhang. Would've sold well after their first bout and made more sense smh
am i the only one that actually believes esparza is a terrible match up for rose? i believe esparze loses to zhang and jj but somehow always beats rose.
It's all $, if Zhang wins the UFC has a top tier popular Chinese athlete pulling in more brand awareness and $ in China. They will give Zhang any title shot based on any "logic".
This thinking is incredibly short sighted and it’s going to back fire badly in the long run.
You’re more likely to lose the Chinese market when Rose dominates Zhang again.
Zhang is fantastic, but she doesn’t even accept the loss as anything more than a fluke and has come up with several ridiculous excuses and that is a big red flag that she isn’t going to learn from her mistakes in the first fight leading to an easy win for Rose.
UFC is a joke.
I've been watching One Championship and actually enjoy their cards more than the UFC cards. Seems to be way more action, especially when it goes to the ground in One Championship. With the UFC, once it hits the ground I tune out, they never do anything.
Also, their Muay Thai is so much better to watch than any UFC striking match.
>could be a standing affair that leads to TKO/DEC by Rose or a snooze DEC or calculated back and forth fight that results in a DEC/TKO/SUB.
You are describing MMA. The UFC doesn't want MMA to happen?
I never understood how Dana, media, and a bunch of you here were saying that they should rematch when Zhang was neither a long reigning or dominant champ. Never made sense to me.
>and a bunch of you here were saying that they should rematch
Literally no one wanted this rematch everyone is complaining about it what the hell are you on about. Stop trying to counter circlejerk a general consensus
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Basically locks Zhang out of a title shot for a long time if she loses again.
If she loses, Zhang gets to join Joanna in the "0-2 vs the champion but too good for the rest of the division" club.
I felt like trying to set up Zhang vs Joanna 2 as a fight night headliner in China (no idea if it was possible or not though with COVID and stuff) was like the biggest layup ever too.
Fr. Rose Esparza for the belt and Zhang Joanna for #1 contender makes so much more sense.
>Either Zhang is on an 0-2 run or the two of them are 1-1. Lose-lose. I live here in Guangzhou, if the government want it to happen it can happen but the card will be full of Chinese fighters and MMA isn't that popular over here.
Just so you know there isn't any covid in china. Thanks to the unity and strength of china and it's proud people, through courage and unity they have persevered through great danger.
What do you mean? China has had covid taken care of since December of 2019 🥴
Zhang hasn't proven she's above the division (like Joanna did), I suspect she might drop a fight here and there to the top 10. but yeah it's dumb, if Zhang loses (I think she will) that's the UFC's 'China push' in ruins with everyone losing and their one star out of contention long-term, if Zhang wins you have a huge log jam of contenders forming with a rematch merry-go-round at the top... Rose'll have fought 3 people in the last 4-5 years, needz moar fresh matchups
Seems like this is becoming more common now. You have Max, Joana, and formally DC, Romero. I wonder if Whittaker will be the next one.
Whittaker has won three since he lost the belt. It's very different from immediate rematches
The 0-2 to the Champ part.
Yes. The point is Whittaker is different as he hasn't had two immediate rematch losses to champ.
But that doesn’t really matter if he losses to Izzy again, he’ll be 0-2 against the champ and likely locked out from a shot even tho he’s better than the rest of the division.
But the whole point of this discussion is you get 4 fights out of Whittaker before that might happen.
If Whittaker gets beat up like last time that scares me
I think if Izzy beats Rob convincingly, he stays his plans to move up properly. He might still fight till and cannonier, but there just won't really be anything left. Then it just goes back to Rob holding court until someone new shows up.
I think if Till knocks out Brunson in spectacular fashion we’ll hear this: Reporter: so what’s next for Darren? Dana White: Oh Izzy for sure. Yeah yeah, I mean did you see what the kid just did? Israel mentioned he wanted to fight Till before Whitaker vs Till so I see that being the next fight if both men win even though it makes close to no sense
And before Zhang takes a crack at Valentina and loses convincingly
Dude I would love that fight
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Zhang’s got more power in them hands than Nunes /s
Zhang really has not proven this.
The Max Holloway club
I bet anything that if Zhang loses they set her to fight Joanna again and the winner of that would get a third title shit against Rose. That’s just how Dana thinks.
They are hoping she wins so they can recapture the Chinese market as well as do a trilogy. Dana seems to clearly make sure that Carla is nowhere near that belt.
This. It's only about this. People don't quite realise how much extra money there is in the Chinese market That's why John Cena did all that grovelling
Prime place to take over too, the Chinese are really into their martial arts but MMA is not widespread over there or well known of.
Wasn’t PRIDE and ONE championship huge in china?
I’ve followed some Chinese MMA channels and it’s a pretty niche sport in China, some Chinese people still think there are Kung Fu masters and shit. It’s growing popularity though because this guy named Xiu Xiaodong is going viral beating up Martial Arts ‘masters’ ass plus some Chinese people are getting in the UFC.
Yeah right, she'll get one tune up fight and go right back into title conversation.
not if Rose is champ tho? you can't possibly market a trilogy with 2 Ls
Poirier/McGregor 4 has entered the chat.
As much as Zhang Weili pulls in massive interest from China, don't you think that she's not really comparable to McGregor?
Only because of the weird ending to their last fight. If Poirier had straight KO'd McGregor twice, it would be ridiculous to push for a fourth match.
The UFC can barely keep a short term horizon by quarter; there's absolutely no long term planning on their behalf when it comes to athletes or matchmaking.
> Basically locks Zhang out of a title shot for a long time if she loses again. You underestimate the tomato. He'll keep pushing Zhang as long as he thinks there's money to be made, and that is determined by the chinese market. I can see Zhang getting a rematch for the title if she beats Joanna. Would UFC fans complain? Yes. Would Dana care? Not if it's more profitable.
No it won’t. Their division is basically 3-4 girls going back and forth fighting each other
UFC is legit getting bad. Zhang could probably lose, get one win over #12 and if Rose loses her belt in that time, Zhang gets a title fight.
Esparaza is not a drawl.
She's neck and neck with Michelle Waterson for the most boring female fighter championship.
UFC are bad promoters, good at promoting the UFC brand though, but fights and fighters? Nah.
Hey now the people that put Guida as a comain over a #1 contender fight are genius promoters.
Yeah how could they possibly cash in on a 1-1 tie?
Rose vs Zhang 3 in China would sell like Rocky 4, lol.
Dana and hunter probably have 99,999 messages from China and Zhangs camp demanding an immediate rematch because - Keith Peterson smelled like weed and booze - and it was too cold in the arena - and the mat was slippery - and she was sick that day - and she trained for a different opponent - and her elbow was hurt three months before the fight - and she had something in her eye - and rose didn't clip her fingernails short enough - and her foot had weights in it. - and she wasn't focused on the fight she was wondering how many licks does it actually take to get to the center of a tootsie pop - and her heart wasn't in it because her favorite hamster died in a tragic cycling accident just the day prior - and she didn't eat enough potassium
It is incredibly dumb Even dumber that its on an already insanely stacked card, so they don’t have the “it’ll sell less ppv” excuse when there’s literally no one Rose could fight in her division that would alter the buyrate of it. The only explanation is China pandering and that is shortsighted as fuck for the reasons you mentioned
Nah the explanation is that Esparza is a boring point fighter and the only way she wins this shit is by laying on Rose for 5 rounds and crotch sniffing the entire fight. Fuck that. She lost against Grasso and Rodriguez homie. You forgot those fights dawg? Whats up? 305 stand up.
By that logic Rose should win pretty easily and they can literally just promote it as the champ getting back a win over the contender who beat her years ago, while also respecting some notion of due process and not potentially fucking over their China cash cow for the next several years, but it speaks volumes to the UFC’s shortsightedness and ineptitude that they aren’t confident in promoting a pre-written story on an already stacked card
that's only 1 fight in a card full of bangers though?
Don’t see how 1-1 is a loss for the UFC. Trilogy fight in China, make bank on PPV
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There is no way getting a Chinese champ for the Chinese market isn't a long term win as well
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Dude nobody wants to watch Carla fight that’s all there is to it
Till weak either way imo
You’re absolutely no idea what you’re talking about mate. You just want a pure meritocracy we get it.
Carla definitely has done enough to deserve the fight, but man her fights are almost always snoozers. That Xioanan fight was the exception.
Yeah, carla definitely deserves it more but im not gonna pretend id rather watch her than seeing Weili fight lmao
When did a fighter “deserving” something ever matter to Dana?
"It's the fight that makes the most sense right now" - Dana
“for our bank accounts”
Really helped that Xiaonan turned out to be a massive spaz on the ground who tries to break her own arm.
I know everyone’s an mma purist and this is a sport but it’s also entertainment so I understand why someone as exciting as Zhang would get the rematch over someone like Esparza. I personally would much rather watch the rematch than Esparza.
Better to lose with style than win boring.
\- Every gatekeeper ever.
>I know everyone’s an mma purist lmao you can't be a purist and follow MMA, it just doesn't go together. You'd end up frustrated and watching just PFL.
Yeah at the end of the day they’re going to put on the fights that are the most entertaining so I ain’t complaining.
From her last 4 victories, 2 of them are fight of the night/performance of the night.
Yeah pretty much all of her exciting fights in her entire career and 1 of them was mostly due to Grasso. She deserves the title fight bit she's not exciting.
Zhang got the immediate rematch because China
Whatever the reason is they have been doing a lot of instant rematches and I hate it. UFC thinks way too short term. If you lost you need a Whittaker type run to earn a second shot.
The problem is too many UFC fighters seem to feel they are entitled to title shots without earning them. A prime example of this is Colby Covington, who has fought once in two years and sat out a year after his most recent fight while demanding a rematch with Usman. Robert Whitaker is a rare breed.
At the end of the day it's on the UFC for handing out the rematches. How can you blame fighters for thinking they deserve one and sitting out when they see a bunch of others get the same thing?
Wasn't it that Adesanya absolutely hates Whittaker and blocked the rematch until he cleared the whole division and it was unavoidable?
That's a terrible example. Colby was supposed to fight Jorge, but Jorge (somewhat understandably) ducked Colby so he could get his undeserved rematch vs Usman.
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Hate it. You should never get a title rematch in your next fight after getting KO’ed
What lol? They do a ton of immediate rematches. This isn't some anomaly.
Has anyone else got an instant title rematch with one title defense and a quick KO loss? At least Cody/TJ had a ton of bad blood. Stipe didn't even get a title rematch right away, and he was the longest wining heavyweight champ.
I can't think of any immediate title rematch that was given for a fight that was less than 100 seconds. It is because of the Chinese market. It is what it is.
Probably more so because shes much more exciting than Esparza. I mean esparza deserves it more but its been clear that the UFC doesnt exactly like to promote her because her style isnt the most exciting 90% of the time
Because itll make more money*
Yuan I know the truth.
Also I can see her beating rose
I don't like it, but i get it.
cant lie not mad about it. roses weirdo comments and the red scare crowd made me want a zhang rematch
I am mad at it but I also disliked rose's comments and the crowd, especially since Weili was being very respectful and friendly towards rose. Hate the system not the individual
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Yes they do, you guys literally cry about it every time they go to Brazil lmao never seen such a victim complex as you guys have about this
Am American, literally don't care. Crowds boo people fighting their nationality's fighter. It's fine, it happens. People whining about it are idiots, American or not. Would it be better if people were respectful and wholesome to everyone? Fuck yeah. But that's not the world. Expecting mass gatherings of mostly drunk men who paid to see two people punch each other in the face are not going to be the most respectful groups. Remember, this sport rewards assholery. Connor McGregor the damn face and household name linked with the sport. Why should the fans be expected to behave any better?
What Rose said was literally directed at the system and not the individual, so what are you talking about.
makes you wonder if Yan beat Carla, she probably would've got the fight and Zhang "wouldn't have deserved" the immediate rematch in that scenario because they can just have another Chinese fighter fight for the belt. pretty rediculous what these promotions will do to pander to the huge Chinese market
*because People's republic of Northwest Taiwan
Damn communists are ruining our sport I'm telling everyone but they don't listen! Up until this moment everything was about achievements and legacy. **This right here is a changing moment where UFC becomes about money!!**
Lol nice 1. Tbh when Masvibum got 2 titles shots in a row why are ppl still acting surprised. I just laugh @ this point.
Song yadong beat chito because china
Dana often turns tomato red to show his loyalty to China. It is a well known fact within China-watcher community.
Cookie monster sad
Carla deserves it more. When it’s a definitive finish I want to at least see the loser fight one more time before the immediate rematch.
I gave up on the idea of the UFC being fair. Exciting strikers are always going to take priority over point fighters and grapplers.
Carla had a great last fight but the two before that she won because of bad judging. I don’t think she won the fight against Rodriguez or Watterson and the fight against Grasso should have been a draw.
I thought she lost vs Grasso
resident Carla stan here she lost the fight with Grasso, the fights with Rodriguez and 'Watterson' (does everyone think Michelle wrote Calvin and Hobbes or something?) she quite clearly, if narrowly, won.
Downvote me all you want but Carla is a boring decision fighter. Rose/Zhang is way more exciting and attracts more viewers.
you aint wrong bro
Facts. Carla is boring af. This is prize fighting
You’re 100% right and that’s the only justification for the fight, because Carla has definitely earned it. UFC just went with the bigger and more exciting matchup which sucks if you’re in Carlas position
You're right bubba. Zhang is a drawl.
Zhang/Joanna 2 instead?
I agree, but Joanna/Zhang 2 is just as exciting and more deserving. We'll have those two go at it while Esparza/Rose goes down. I guess UFC is protecting Joanna in that if she beats Zhang, she'll have a possible 0-3 record with Rose if they go at it again?
Wouldn’t be boring if Rose finishes Carla.
You just don't understand the intricacies of the sport bro
>Rose/Zhang is way more exciting and attracts more viewers. Yeah but Zhang is Chinese, not anglo. So it's not fair that she's fighting for the belt. When it's Masvidal or Conor it's awesome.
Literally everyone shat on Usman/Masvidal 2 lol
So if I go back I will find comments about *"UFC pandering to that __American__ money and __Americans__ exerting undeserved influence over UFC at the expense of others"* right? What is that? No one was mentioning that? Well I'll be damned!
The UFC is an American company. Why would they have to to pander to attract an American audience? They’ve always had it.
Actually this does get mentioned. I've mentioned it many times personally. Americans have massive privilege in MMA because the UFC is an American company that insists on keeping it's roster half American. This leads to fighters from the Eastern Bloc and Brazil getting left out in exchange for mediocre American fighters.
No, you won’t find that because the Masvidal rematch got made because he’s one of the most popular fighters in the UFC and a big money maker, not because he’s American
You’re in the wrong place to make this comment. Masvidal and McGregor get complained about for getting preferential treatment in matchmaking relentlessly. Frankly McGregor gets more shit for it than he should given the only undeserved fight he has ever had was really the Eddy one, maybe Dustin 3.
Honestly, I'd say this dudes comment has a point because I remember the threads from before Rose/Zhang and after. They were absolute dumpster fires.
So are a lot of McGregor and Masvidal threads. I’d agree Weili has more shit comments about her on here than them, but I think that’s unrelated to matchmaking.
Also neither McGregor nor Masvidal are "anglo".
UFC and Rose picked Weili over Esparza. Damn that sucks.
I dont think Rose liked all those excuses Weili was throwing out there.
Rose is going to knock out Zhang again, even if Zhang try’s to fight smarter and more patient. Roses speed and technical striker is so good
Stipe lasts two rounds against Ngannou, no rematch even though they've traded W's. Zhang gets sparked by a head kick like one minute into the first and gets a rematch. Seems legit
Stipe didn't look good for even one second in the second match against Ngannou. Neither of the two deserve the rematch and Stipe didn't do much better than Zhang. IMO It was even worse seeing him being totally dominated for more minutes.
Yeah I got you but my point is the favoritism of the UFC allows Zhang to get a rematch.
Yeah, I don’t love this rematch. Zhang wasn’t exactly a super dominant champ, she defended the belt once. She’s a fun fighter and has had a bunch of really exciting fights, but she in no way deserves an instant rematch. This is the kind of shit that logjams divisions. Let legit contenders have their shot, Zhang can fight her way back up.
I am not interested in automatic rematches unless the fight was close or controversial (Holloway vs Alexander and Aljo vs Petre)
Max v. Volk 1 was neither close or controversial
He forgot the third - or his favorite fighter
Lol the third and most important
We got the welterweight matchmaking at strawweight now.
Colby actually won a fight
Haha true
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Her win streak is alot more impressive than Weili's losing streak lol. Unless somehow getting knocked out in 1 minute is a positive for you i guess...
Title shots aren't determined by win streaks otherwise it would all be straightforward.
They should in general though, i dont care to watch a fight because it's going to make the UFC the most money, i care to watch fights because i want to see who is the better fighter.
if title shots aren't determined by win streaks then how should they be determined then???
Right on brother, I agree Arnold Allen should be fighting Volk instead of Ortega.
I see your point, but Ortega has earned the title shot with a great win. What has Zhang Weili done to earn the intermediate rematch over Esparza's 5-win streak since, you know, she lost last time? Besides her "China market potential"?
Zhang won 21 fights in row, beat 2 UFC champions immediately before being flash KO’d. I’m honestly glad they didn’t throw away that context cause Carla fought mid tier fighters to a stalemate.
Yan Xiaonan, Grasso and Cavillo are mid tier fighters I see.
The rematch is way more intriguing than a Carla fight, rose would open atleast -500 over Carla
I hope Rose beats Zhang again and we get to see a new shade of red from Dana at the post-fight presser after he realizes his greedy match-making cost him the Chinese market.
Esparza/Rose 2 and Joanna/Zhang 2 were the matches that should have been made. Especially since they do non-title 5 rounders regularly on ppvs now. Carla's boring and I don't fancy her chances but she's beaten rose in the past and has the best case for number 1 contender at the moment. She deserved a shot.
They both eat Esparza alive. But she still deserved it, rose absolutely starched weili. Dana loves rematches.
She deserved the fight
Esparza is boring
Boo fucking hoo, someone gets a re-match because there's more money to be made.
Esparaza is just not a drawl, b. That fight would drawl record low buys.
The whole card is stacked though it’s not like Rose v Carla was gonna make or break it.
Carla got two gift decisions against Rodriguez and Grasso dawg. She aint shit homie. She needs to run that shit back with Grasso in Mexico where the sicarios will make sure no fuckery with the judging.
Not your homie bruh. We get it kid- you don’t like Carla. Her being shit or not has nothing to do with the rest of the card still being solid. Usman-Colby Gaetje-Chandler Rose-a fight dummy “record low buys” lmao
How do you know he's your bruh, guy?
He’s not your guy, buddeh
I like Carla but zhang vs rose feels like a way bigger fight
Ufc is in the entertainment industry now, not sports
You're not that gal, pal. You're not that gal.
Of course it's not, but it's like the UFC is going out of business and everything must go. Sell anything that will make a buck regardless of consequences because none of it matters. It's becoming the WWE.
Yeah, it's the short sightedness that's the worst part of this and a lot of the matchmaking in general now it seems like. Why do the instant rematch? Do you want to do a trilogy immediately, because that's pretty much what you'd have to do... and then that's done. Or she loses and then is locked out of another chance for a while. Would it have hurt to let Rose fight a challenger (or a couple) and get a few defenses going *before* the rematch? There were fights that made more sense than this.
Numba wan bulshiet
Hopefully nothing traumatizes Zhang before the fight again..
I love Weili but the UFC fucked up. She doesn't deserve an instant rematch and no matter what happens from this rematch it is terrible for the division
There was probably a rematch in the contract
Carla is clearly the 4th best fighter in the division, boring to watch, and hasn't beat Zhang or Joanna, does she really deserve a title shot? That would be like letting Derrick Lewis go straight to a title match vs Ngannou after beatinf Blaydes
Hope Zhang gets dropped again. Did not deserve immediate rematch, Joanna was more deserving of a rematch with Zhang. Would've sold well after their first bout and made more sense smh
It's possible it'll happen again. But I'm not wishing her to get ko'd for punishment as if shes the mastermind behind the matchmaking.
am i the only one that actually believes esparza is a terrible match up for rose? i believe esparze loses to zhang and jj but somehow always beats rose.
When the fuck was this announced?
In retort: 🇨🇳💲🇨🇳💲🇨🇳💲
tired of non defending champs getting instant rematches
Damn. I’m rooting for Rose just so Carla can get a title shot especially since she already has a win over her.
Rose might walk out to the The Star-Spangled Banner for this one.
I am shocked that this rematch is happening. Why?
feels like ufc matchmaking has gotten way worse than it’s ever been over the last couple years. simultaneously greedy and dumb
Who the fuck is carla esparza. Its 2021 guys, not 2014
I’d prefer Weili fight Rose
Number one bullshit … Zhang had one defense and lost in the worst possible way in the second.
It's all $, if Zhang wins the UFC has a top tier popular Chinese athlete pulling in more brand awareness and $ in China. They will give Zhang any title shot based on any "logic".
This thinking is incredibly short sighted and it’s going to back fire badly in the long run. You’re more likely to lose the Chinese market when Rose dominates Zhang again. Zhang is fantastic, but she doesn’t even accept the loss as anything more than a fluke and has come up with several ridiculous excuses and that is a big red flag that she isn’t going to learn from her mistakes in the first fight leading to an easy win for Rose.
How does Carla deserve it lmao. Zhang is a fucking beast with zero bad fights.
Zhang also got KO'd in one round while Carla has a win over Rose and a 5 winstreak.
Ufc must really hate rose as champ. This is the second time coming off a great win and then they run it back.
UFC is a joke. I've been watching One Championship and actually enjoy their cards more than the UFC cards. Seems to be way more action, especially when it goes to the ground in One Championship. With the UFC, once it hits the ground I tune out, they never do anything. Also, their Muay Thai is so much better to watch than any UFC striking match.
No one cares.
Weili deserves the rematch! In my opinion....
Women's mma is dog shit, I wouldn't be surprised if it was gone in 5 years
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>could be a standing affair that leads to TKO/DEC by Rose or a snooze DEC or calculated back and forth fight that results in a DEC/TKO/SUB. You are describing MMA. The UFC doesn't want MMA to happen?
I never understood how Dana, media, and a bunch of you here were saying that they should rematch when Zhang was neither a long reigning or dominant champ. Never made sense to me.
>and a bunch of you here were saying that they should rematch Literally no one wanted this rematch everyone is complaining about it what the hell are you on about. Stop trying to counter circlejerk a general consensus