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As UFC 248 concluded, both the Champions who put their belts on the line ended up defending it successfully.
Zhang Weili retained her Strawweight title in a close split decision win over Joanna Jedrjezczyk in the co-main event, in a fight which is inarguably one of the best women's fights in the history of UFC. In a much more lackluster showing in comparison, Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya kept his crown in a battle against Yoel Romero that saw very little action.
In the post-fight news conference, UFC President Dana White addressed the two fights and shared his opinions on them.
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Dana White on Weili vs. Jedrzejczyk
The former and current Strawweight Champions spared not an inch of ground to each other. The two went the distance fighting toe-to-toe at all times. Jedrzejczyk took a hit in her eye early on, and then later in the fight, a vicious punch to her forehead which made it swell up dangerously. The cageside doctor was called upon to check on the Polish Challenger, but he gave a green signal and the fight went on.
Weili herself was fairly fatigued and bleeding from her nose by the time the fight finished. In a narrow Split decision, the Chinese fighter retained her title - but it could have gone either way till the very end.
Dana White reminded the reporters in the conference how he had already pitched the co-main fight to be the highlight of the event, and that he had 'begged' the fans to pay attention to that fight.
"I was talking more about the co-main event than the main event. I knew that the fight was going to be ridiculous. You had these two incredibly talented savages who wanted this belt more than anything. I didn't know if there was going to be a KO or a submission or something like that. I was begging people to watch that fight."
Jedrzejczyk had also predicted that this was going to be the best Strawweight fight the world has seen. The performance they put up inside the Octagon went on to prove both of them right.
Dana White on Israel Adesanya
The main event, as per White's predictions, could not match up to the action of the previous at any point. While White admits that the co-main was a "tough act to follow", it was still a rather dull affair comparison, given how it was the headliner.
It was largely Romero's doing, as Adesanya seemed up and about to take the Cuban fighter heads on from the beginning. Romero did land a few strikes, but they were too few and far apart. It was an obvious unanimous win for the Champion.
"It was a tough act to follow after the co-main event. I believe Israel Adesanya fights to the level of his opponent. The Anderson Silva fight was similar to that. The (Kevin) Gastelum fight was a war. Gastelum goes after him and tries to take his head off. Whittaker is going after him, trying to take his head off. You better believe Paulo Costa will go after him. That fight should be ridiculous."
With their respective wins, both Zhang Weili and Israel Adesanya continue their long undefeated streaks at UFC. Adesanya has never lost a fight in his professional career, and Weili has won all but one - her debut bout at China MMA League.
