Exclusive: UFC surprised strawweight Jinh Yu Frey with Zhang Weili's next title fight
UFC women's strawweight contender Jinh Yu Frey recently weighed in on the upcoming Zhang Weili vs. Amanda Lemos bout at UFC 292. The women's strawweight champion is set to defend her title against the Brazilian at the TD Garden in Boston on August 19.
After her incredible first-round knockout against Jessica Andrade at UFC 288 last month, Yan Xiaonan was highly expected to challenge her compatriot Zhang Weili for her title in China. With the UFC reportedly planning an event in Shanghai sometime later this year, many were shocked when 'Magnum' was instead booked against Amanda Lemos.
It'll be China vs. Brazil for the belt.
Zhang Weili will defend against Amanda Lemos in Boston. 🇨🇳🇧🇷
#UFC292 | bit.ly/WeiliLemos https://t.co/kQK6YEVWd8
In an exclusive interview with Andrew Whitelaw for Sportskeeda MMA, Jinh Yu Frey was asked to comment on the Weili vs. Lemos matchup, to which she replied:
"I definitely wouldn't have seen that coming... Maybe she [Yan] needed more time before she got back in there and maybe Amanda Lemos was the one answering the call and saying she was ready to get in there."
Predicting 'Magnum' to retain her title against Lemos, the Korean-American strawweight revealed that she'd like to see Zhang Weili fight Yan Xiaonan next, saying:
"I'd like to see some Chinese on Chinese violence. That's an interesting matchup."
Watch the interview below (5:25 onwards):
Jinh Yu Frey on her fight camp ahead of her upcoming bout at UFC Vegas 74
UFC women's strawweight contender Jinh Yu Frey is set to face Elise Reed at UFC Vegas 74 at the Apex facility in Las Vegas this weekend.
The 38-year-old is currently riding a two-fight losing streak and will be looking to get back in the win column after two consecutive losses to Polyana Viana and Vanessa Demopoulos. Her loss to Viana was particularly devastating as she found herself getting knocked out just 47 seconds into the fight.
While being on the losing end of a lightning-fast finish is certainly tough to digest for any fighter, Jinh Yu Frey has mentally moved on from the loss and recently claimed that she feels less pressure going into this weekend's event.
In a recent UFC interview with MMA journalist Kevin Schuster, Frey opened up about her latest fight camp and detailed how her attitude in the gym was different this time. She stated:
"I think this fight camp... felt like there was less weight. It was more about having fun and enjoying myself, enjoying the process... I actually thought that I might feel a lot of pressure during the camp, and I really didn’t... I feel like I’ve made a lot of improvements and I’m super motivated to go in there and get my hand raised."
Catch UFC on ESPN 46 live on Sony Sports Network from 6:30 am onwards this Sunday.