In 2017, Rose Namajunas captured the UFC strawweight title with a first-round knockout win over Joanna Jedrzejczyk. The stoppage gave Namajunas four finishes in the UFC 115-pound division. Her victory also ended the 14-fight winning streak of Jedrzejczyk. On Saturday, at UFC 261, Namajunas gets the chance to win that title back, take the top spot in UFC strawweight history in finishes and end the 21-fight winning streak of current 115-pound UFC champ, Weili Zhang.
Namajunas’ reign at the top of the division was a short one. She defeated Jedrzejczyk in a rematch, but lost the belt in her next outing when Jessica Andrade, who fights for the flyweight title at UFC 261, slammed Namajunas on her head. Namajunas got revenge when she defeated Andrade in the rematch, but by the time that bout took place, Andrade had lost the title to Zhang.
Zhang lost her professional MMA debut. Since that 2013 setback, she has not tasted a second defeat. With 21 straight wins to her name, Zhang attempts to make her second defense of the title she won in 2019 when she scored a 42-second knockout win over Andrade. That knockout is the second fastest KO in UFC strawweight history and the fastest stoppage in a 115-pound UFC title fight.
If Zhang defends her title against Namajunas, she will become the first 115-pound UFC champ since Jedrzejczyk to defend more than once. Jedrzejczyk holds the UFC record in the strawweight division with five title defenses.
Below is a look at the UFC records of Zhang and Namajunas before their rematch at the top of the UFC 261 fight card.
UFC 261 takes place Saturday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. The main card streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+ and early prelims on ESPN+ and UFC Fight Pass.
UFC 261: Zhang vs. Namajunas UFC records
| Weili Zhang | Rose Namajunas |
|---|---|
| Weili Zhang | Rose Namajunas |
| Overall UFC records | Overall UFC records |
| Overall UFC women’s strawweight records | Overall UFC women’s strawweight records |
| Zhang is tied for second in UFC strawweight history with two title fight wins | Namajunas is tied for first in knockdowns landed in UFC strawweight history with three |
| Zhang is tied for third in longest winning streak in UFC strawweight history at five | Namajunas is tied for first in finishes in UFC strawweight history with four |
| Zhang ranks fourth in strikes landed per minute in UFC strawweight history with 6.38 | Namajunas is tied for second in UFC strawweight history with two title fight wins |
| Zhang ranks fourth in striking differential in UFC strawweight history at plus 1.95 | Namajunas is tied for second in UFC strawweight history with three submission wins |
| Zhang ranks fourth in botttom position time in UFC strawweight history at 1:34 | Namajunas is tied for second in UFC strawweight history with five fight-night bonuses |
| Zhang ranks fourth in botttom position percentage in UFC strawweight history at 2.64 percent | Namajunas ranks third in UFC strawweight history in takedown accuracy with 53.3 percent |
| Zhang ranks sixth in knockdown average in UFC strawweight history at 0.25 percent per 15 min. | Namajunas ranks third in UFC strawweight history in knockdown average per 15 minutes at 0:36 |
| Namajunas is tied for fifth in wins in UFC strawweight history with seven | |
| Namajunas ranks sixth in UFC strawweight history in submission attempts with seven | |
| Namajunas ranks sixth in UFC strawweight history in takedowns landed with 16 | |
| Namajunas is tied for eighth in total fights in UFC strawweight history with 10 | |
| Namajunas ranks eighth in UFC strawweight history with 21:43 of top position time | |
| Namajunas ranks ninth in UFC strawweight history in submission average per 15 minutes at 0.84 | |
| Namajunas ranks tenth in UFC strawweight history with 28:26 control time | |
| Namajunas ranks tenth in UFC strawweight history in significant striking defense at 60.6 percent | |
| UFC strawweight single fight records | UFC strawweight single fight records |
| Zhang ranks second in total strikes attempted in a UFC strawweight fight wiith 413 vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk on 3-7-20 | Namajunas ranks third in UFC strawweight history with eight takedowns landed in one fight vs. Paige VanZant on 12-10-15 |
| Zhang ranks second in fastest finish in a UFC strawweight fight at 0:42 vs. Jessica Andrade on 8-31-19 | Namajunas ranks third in UFC strawweight history with a takedown accuracy of 80 percent in one fight vs. Paige VanZant on 12-10-15 |
| Zhang ranks second in significant strikes attempted in a UFC strawweight fight with 408 vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk on 3-7-20 | Namajunas is tied for fourth in UFC strawweight history with four submission attempts in one fight vs. Paige VanZant on 12-10-15 |
| Zhang ranks second in fastest KO in a UFC strawweight fight at 0:42 vs. Jessica Andrade on 8-31-19 | Namajunas ranks fifth in fastest KO in UFC strawweight history at 3:03 vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk on 11-4-17 |
| Zhang ranks third in significant striking accuracy in a UFC strawweight fight at 77.6 percent vs. Jessica Aguilar on 11-24-18 | Namajunas ranks eighth in latest finish in UFC strawweight history at 2:35 of Rd 5 vs. Paige VanZant on 12-10-15 |
| Zhang ranks fourth in distance strikes landed in a UFC strawweight fight with 158 vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk on 3-7-20 | Namajunas ranks 10th in fastest submission in UFC strawweight history at 2:47 vs. Angela Hill on 10-3-15 |
| Zhang is tied for sixth in significant head strikes landed in a UFC strawweight fight with 96 vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk on 3-7-20 | |
| Zhang ranks sixth in significant leg kicks landed in a UFC strawweight fight with 57 vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk on 3-7-20 | |
| Zhang ranks sixth in total leg kicks landed in a UFC strawweight fight with 58 vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk on 3-7-20 | |
| Zhang ranks seventh in significant strikes landed in a UFC strawweight fight with 165 vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk on 3-7-20 | |
| Zhang ranks seventh in significant ground strikes landed in a UFC strawweight fight with 39 vs. Jessica Aguilar on 11-24-18 | |
| Zhang ranks 10th in significant leg kicks landed in a UFC strawweight fight with 31 vs. Danielle Taylor on 8-4-18 | |
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