Zhang Weili finishes Carla Esparza, recaptures UFC strawweight title
Two titles are on the line tonight at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. UFC 281 is headlined by a middleweight title bout between champion Israel Adesanya and challenger Alex Pereira. The two men have faced each other twice before in kickboxing with Pereira coming out victorious in both. How will “The Last Stylebender” respond to this trilogy bout with his title on the line?
In the co-main event slot, UFC women’s strawweight champion Carla Esparza defends her title for the first time since capturing it from former champion Rose Namajunas. Standing opposite “The Cookie Monster” is the challenger, and former champion Zhang Weili. Esparza is a two-time division champion with a lot at stake as many feel that she did not really earn the belt with a lackluster performance over Namajunas earlier this year.
The first-round tonight at MSG was fairly even but Esparza may have been ahead on the scorecards due to her wrestling.
It didn’t take long however, for the former champion to realize what she needed to do to recapture gold in the second frame.
Happy to see Zhang Weili snatched the strawweight strap away from Carla Esparza as she finished Carla with rear-naked choke! 2x UFC strawweight champion! #AndNEW #UFC281 pic.twitter.com/mBtqGP4tus
— ⚜ WHO DAT Cool Breesy ⚜ (@Steve2duhO) November 13, 2022
Official result – Zhang Weili defeated Carla Esparza via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:05
