Newly crowned UFC strawweight champion, Carla Esparza, and former champ, Zhang Weili, are scheduled to meet at UFC 281 on November 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.
Journalist Ariel Helwani was the first to report the news of the matchup being in the works on the latest edition of his show The MMA Hour on Wednesday, although the promotion itself has yet to officially announce anything regarding the event or booking. Esparza is riding a six-fight winning streak currently and is coming off of a split-decision victory over former two-time UFC strawweight champ, Rose Namajunas, in their rematch back at UFC 274. Weili meanwhile is 2-2 in her last four Octagon appearances and will try to build on a second-round KO win over former UFC strawweight champion, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, in their respective rematch at UFC 275.
what a KO by Weili !!------#UFC275 pic.twitter.com/mtSDNnZ0Lf
— --------ℂℍ (@MMAPORT) June 12, 2022
Fightful has all of your MMA needs covered. Follow us on Twitter for updates, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for ‘Fightful Fight Night’ watch-alongs for all major MMA and Boxing events!
