In a recent appearance on The MMA Hour former UFC strawweight champion Weili Zhang implored people not to mix politics with sport. She also accused Rose Namajunas of turning fans against her prior to their fight at UFC 261.
Her appeal for unity appears to have fallen on death ears at least as far as former UFC featherweight Ricardo Lamas is concerned. He had a blunt message for the Chinese star:
https://twitter.com/RicardoLamasMMA/status/1446149831873925127?s=20
Lamas accuses Zhang of being a communist and says this is the reason fans in the US don’t like her. The Chinese fighter is set to rematch Namajunas at UFC 268 in New York.
Zhang is hoping that the crowd will be calmer that the one in Florida, which booed her relentlessly. But, if Lamas’ reaction is anything to go by, not everyone is ready to be united by their shared love of MMA.
Will Zhang experience the same sort of hostility in New York that she did in Jacksonville? Will Namajunas have more to say in the buildup to this fight?
UFC 268 is set for November 6th and It could be an interesting few weeks….
