Rose Namaunas and Weili Zhang will rematch at UFC 268 and the oddsmakers are expecting a much closer fight.
Namajunas and Zhang first met in April at UFC 261 where Zhang was defending her strawweight title for the second time. Ahead of the bout, the Chinese champion was a -200 favorite with the challenger being a +170 underdog. Yet, it was Namajunas who got a first-round knockout in under 90 seconds.
Now, ahead of the rematch on November 6 at UFC 268, oddsmakers have revealed the odds for the fight. To some surprise, Namajunas and Zhang opened at a -110 pick’em but now the odds have shifted in favor of Namajunas being a -138 favorite with the comeback on Zhang at +105.
It is sort of surprising to see Namajunas only be a slight favorite over Zhang given how dominant the first fight was. However, Namajunas is someone who hasn’t gotten the most respect from oddsmakers and bettors as she is usually the underdog or only a slight favorite.
Rose Namajunas (10-4), as mentioned, is coming off a first-round head kick KO victory over Zhang in April. With the victory, Namajunas reclaimed the strawweight title and she became the first female UFC fighter to reclaim her belt after losing it. Prior to the title fight win, she defeated Jessica Andrade by split decision in a non-title bout after Andrade knocked Namajunas out at UFC 237 to win the strawweight title.
Weili Zhang (21-2) suffered her first UFC loss last time out to Namajunas. Before the setback, she defeated Joanna Jedrzejczyk by split decision at UFC 248 in one of the best fights ever to defend her belt for the first time. Prior to that, she TKO’d Andrade in just 42 seconds to win the belt. She also has beaten Tecia Torres, Jessica Aguilar, and Danielle Taylor in the UFC.
Who do you think will win at UFC 268, Rose Namajunas or Weili Zhang?
