Jeff Smith 
@adminWith the upcoming UFC 261 in Jacksonville, FL. this weekend, the best fight of the night might just be the co-main event between Weili Zhang and Rose Namajunas. The men in the sport still take up most of the spotlight in MMA fighting, but this one could steal the show.
And of course, what good is a show without a little controversy? A little over two weeks ago, Namajunas sparked some ire in not just fans of the sport but her own fans and a general backlash on social media. In case you missed it, she brought Zhang being from communist China into play.
She made her comments during an interview on a Lithuanian Radio and Television (LRT) outlet.
“I don’t hate Weili or anything like that,but I do feel as though I have a lot to fight for in this fight and what she represents. I was just, I was just trying to remind myself of my background and everywhere that I come from and my family and everything like that.” later adding, “I don’t think it’s any coincidence that Weili is ‘red,’ you know, that’s what she represents. It’s nothing personal against her, but that’s a huge motivating factor of why I fight and I fight for freedom.”
The words that stand out the most during the interview has uttered the term “Better dead than red”
In a time when racial tension is so high, and there is a large focus on the serge of racism towards those of asian descent in the US, her words could not have been more ill-timed.
Many of her fans have gone on various social media outlets and posted that they will be now cheering for Zhang in the fight.
From Zhang’s side it has been pretty quiet. They have not taken the bait or fired back. So far, the only comment was from Zhang’s strength and condition coach Rueben Pyan JR.
“Let me tell you the truth, and we’ll make a statement next week cuz the media will be asking. To be honest with you we haven’t been paying attention. It’s been like watching it but not feeling it. This is the soap opera that’s happening but we aren’t really engaging in it because we’re just so focused on the fight. It hasn’t even been a topic for the team. I wish there was something more that I could say, but it’s like … non-emotional. There’s really nothing to say if you’re not really emotionally attached to it.”
As far as the odds-makers are concerned, they are just looking at the records and fighting styles and Zhang comes out ahead on all of it. The straight moneyline bet is Zhang sitting at worst a -185 and as high as -200. Namajunas’ underdog line goes from +177 to +150. Picking Zhang with an over/under or a method of victory might net you better odds.
With a win, Zhang will be looking to move on to challenge for the 125lbs belt, while the win for Namajunas will make her the first ever to regain the strawweight title.
