UFC 268 live blog: Rose Namajunas vs. Zhang Weili 2

This is the UFC 268 live blog for Rose Namajunas vs. Zhang Weili 2, the strawweight co-main event for Saturday’s fight card at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

The fight features Namajunas, the No. 1 ranked strawweight in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings and the No. 3 ranked pound-for-pound fighter, against Weili, who’s No. 2 at 115 pounds and No. 5 on the pound-for-pound list. Just seven months ago, Weili might have had Namajunas’ place but for their first meeting, which ended suddenly in the first round when Namajunas head-kicked Weili at UFC 261. It was Namajunas’ second title win after losing the belt via slam to Jessica Andrade, and a quick fall for Weili, who’d captured the 115-pound title by railroading Andrade and then holding off Joanna Jedrzejczyk in a “Fight of the Year” offering.

Although many pundits criticized the immediate rematch, Weili gets a quick chance at redemption while Namajunas gets to put one challenger way in the rearview mirror.

Check out the UFC 268 live blog.