The greatest female fighters on earth will meet in Singapore — Zhang Weili and Jedrzejczyk rematch

Former UFC strawweight champion Zhāng Wěilì 张伟丽 is set to face Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 275, according to Hunter Campbell, the promotion’s chief business officer. The Singapore card, the first in East Asia since the pandemic, will take place on June 11.

The two last fought in an epic back on the UFC 248 card in March 2020, a bout that is widely considered the greatest women’s fight in the history of MMA. Zhang, who was champion at the time, successfully defended her belt via decision.

However, following that victory against Jedrzejczyk, Zhang suffered two consecutive losses to American Rose Namajunas. In the first fight, Zhang was knocked out from a head kick, while in the rematch, Zhang narrowly ended up on the wrong side of a split decision.

Meanwhile, Jedrzejczyk, who holds the current record for strawweight title defenses with five and victories with 10, has not fought since she lost to Zhang.

Despite Zhang being ranked first in the strawweight rankings, it’s unclear whether she will be offered an immediate chance to regain the belt if she can get past Jedrzejczyk. In all likelihood, Zhang’s next fight will be against Mackenzie Dern, the Brazilian who defeated Tecia Torres on Saturday in Jacksonville and called out the Chinese star following the win.

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China planning bid for World Handball Championship with Russia

China is considering a joint bid with Russia for the women’s 2029 or 2031 Handball World Championships, according to Russian Handball Federation President Sergey Shishkarev.

Shishkarev revealed the news after a meeting with the president of the Chinese Handball Association, Wang Tao. The Russian also said that China has agreed to compete in a three-way tournament in Moscow alongside Russia and Belarus.

Both Russia and Belarus have been banned from most international sports for Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The International Handball Federation has banned all Russian and Belorussian teams and officials from all of its events. This proposed tournament would be unsanctioned.

“We are thinking about submitting a joint bid to host the Women’s Handball World Championship in 2029 or 2031,” Shishkarev said, as reported by state news agency TASS. “Such a large-scale tournament has never been held in such large countries, it will be very interesting.”

If China were to formally join any proposed bid or compete in the tournament that Moscow has called the “Friendship and Peace Cup,” it could also find itself excluded from international competition.

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CBA playoffs update:

(9) Shanxi def. (8) Guangzhou 2-1
(5) Guangdong def. (12) Tianjin 2-0
(10) Jilin def. (7) Beijing 2-0
(6) Shenzhen def. (11) Shandong 2-0

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Other Stories:

F1: China’s Zhou Guanyu ‘hurt’ after narrow top-10 miss at Australian Grand Prix; declares ‘I definitely want points next time’ (SCMP)

CSL clubs risk expulsion over unpaid wages (Reuters)

Dominant Chinese diving pair retire (NBC)

What’s it like playing cricket in China (That’s)

Xi Jinping puts Communist Party on podium as he hails Beijing Winter Olympics (SCMP)

Pandemic Penalties: Cameron Wilson talks COVID and soccer from Shanghai

The China Sports Column runs every week.