Weili Zhang still ‘really angry’ about Joanna Jedrzejczyk making fun of the coronavirus

UFC women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang admits she’s still irritated by Joanna Jedrzejczyk making fun of the coronavirus on social media.

Jedrzejczyk made a joke about the coronavirus on her Instagram in January which ruffled the feathers of Zhang — not to mention those in the MMA community who felt like joking about the coronavirus was an error to do considering how many people around the world have died from the outbreak.

Speaking to the media in Las Vegas ahead of UFC 248, Zhang admitted that she was really bothered by Jedrzejczyk’s coronavirus joke, and explained why the joke was in such bad taste.

“I was really angry about that, especially since she’s making jokes about the outbreak, and making jokes about our nation, our country. Because a lot of died from this coronavirus, a lot of families lost their members around the world, lots of kids lost their parents and became orphans. It’s a very tragic moment for all the Chinese people, but not only the Chinese people but all the people around the world. And she’s making jokes on that? It really, really made me irritated,” Zhang said.

“It’s probably because of the cultural difference. In Chinese culture, we don’t laugh at people who are suffering. We help them, we help them up, we build them up. But I don’t know about her. I’m just really angry about it.”

Zhang will get her chance to get revenge on Jedrzejczyk for her comments this weekend when the two meet in the co-main event of UFC 248. The two rivals already didn’t like each other, and then you throw these comments into the mix, and there should be plenty of pent-up rage to be let out in the Octagon — meaning fans are in for a great fight.

Will Weili Zhang get revenge on Joanna Jedrzejczyk this weekend for her coronavirus joke?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 3/4/2020.