In the run-up to the Chinese New Year, reigning UFC Women's Strawweight World Champion Zhang Weili, who is preparing for her battle in Thailand, has welcomed an old friend and rival in the form of Joanna "The Alien Queen" Jedrzejczyk.
Zhang Weili and Joanna can be described as a model of "heroic sympathy", from the initial hostile attack on Zhang Weili to the wonderful five-round battle, and then from the two to encourage each other to the rematch Zhang Weili KO opponent, Joanna announced her retirement. Although these two players do not understand each other in language and do not have frequent contact, they can be said to be a pair of friends who really understand each other and recognize each other in their hearts.
Now Zhang Weili and Joanna are together in Thailand again, they hug each other and recall the days of playing together, Joanna warmly shook Zhang Weili's hand and said"Weili, I sincerely wish you all the best, I respect you very much, you are a very real person, if I don't like you I won't come, I wish you all the best. ”
Zhang Weili also made careful preparations for this meeting, she prepared the ingredients needed to make dumplings, so that Joanna could experience Chinese food culture firsthand.
In addition, Zhang Weili said:"Inside the Octagon we're rivals and we all want to win for our dreams, but outside the Octagon we're friends, we can eat together, we can talk together, we can be really good friends together. So I'm very happy. And then Joanna will always be a legend in my heart, always a champion, so I have to learn from her. ”
Joanna continued"Remember, we're athletes, but we're also human beings, there's no eternal champion, remember we're always human beings, so that's the most important thing. We want to give each other love and smiles, the day we hit each other's heads and bleed, and the next day we can eat together. ”
From the special friendship between Zhang Weili and Joanna, we can also see that the two players recognize each other from the bottom of their hearts. And being able to gain the respect of your opponent is perhaps one of the happiest things about being a fighter and a fighter.
Recently, Joanna said she was ready to make a comeback, saying she wanted to win another UFC strawweight title before ending her career. She said"I want to be the UFC Strawweight Champion again in my life, and I know I have a mission on my shoulders and I feel like I'm getting closer. ”
But at this year's UFC 300, there will be a Chinese derby battle where Yan Xiaonan, the first Chinese female boxer to sign with the UFC, will challenge Zhang Weili for the strawweight belt. We don't know if Joanna is still in form to be a title contender, but as Zhang Weili says, she's a legend and will forever be remembered in women's strawweight history.