UFC 300: Champions Propose Matchup at Historic Event
It’s still anyone’s guess what the fight card for UFC 300 is going to look like next year, but it appears that two of the promotion’s champions are interested in squaring off at the milestone event.
The second half of this year has seen all kinds of rumors and speculation around what the UFC might have planned for UFC 300. One frequent suggestion among fans has been that the event would be the perfect chance for Conor McGregor to make his long-awaited return to the cage, although the Irishman’s return date and opponent still remain largely uncertain at the moment.
The card will presumably feature multiple title fights, and strawweight queen Zhang Weili recently exchanged messages with women’s flyweight titleholder Alex Grasso to broach the idea of a champion-versus-champion bout at UFC 300.
Zhang’s willingness to move up to flyweight and challenge Grasso would provide her with the chance to become just the second female two-division champion in UFC history following Amanda Nunes’ reign with both the bantamweight and featherweight titles.
“Magnum” lost the strawweight belt to Rose Namajunas via knockout at UFC 261 before she reclaimed it from Carla Esparza with a submission victory late last year. Zhang successfully defended her title at UFC 292 when she defeated Amanda Lemos via lopsided unanimous decision in one of the most impressive performances of her career.
A trilogy bout with Valentina Shevchenko could derail Grasso's aspirations of facing Zhang.
(Stephen R. Sylvanie/USA TODAY Sports)
While there are several promising contenders at strawweight that might take issue with Zhang’s plan to claim flyweight gold, a more significant obstacle to a UFC 300 matchup with Grasso could be the fact that the Mexican champion is coming off a split draw against former divisional queen Valentina Shevchenko.
Grasso famously upset Shevchenko at UFC 285 to claim the flyweight belt before their rematch ended in a draw, but perhaps the UFC may be tempted to move on from her rivalry with “Bullet” in order to book a champion-versus-champion matchup with Zhang at UFC 300.
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