BEIJING, June 10 (Xinhua) -- A lot has happened in the past two years for Chinese mixed martial arts (MMA) star Zhang Weili.
This time two years ago, Zhang was fresh off the back of defending her UFC Strawweight belt in an all-time classic against Poland's former champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
The fight, which put both women into the history books, is widely considered the greatest women's bout in the history of the MMA.
This weekend will see Zhang and Jedrzejczyk run back the classic in Singapore in a clash that threatens to steal the show at UFC 275.
However, since the first fight against Jedrzejczyk, Zhang has lost twice, both times to Rose Namajunas. The first fight with Namajunas saw China's champion lose the belt to a brutal head kick TKO in the opening round, while in the rematch, Zhang lost in a controversial split decision that could have seen her regain her lost belt.
If anyone is worried that Zhang had reached her peak two years ago, it certainly isn't the Hebei native.
"I think my peak is about to come. No matter a warrior or anybody, things will not always be easy. You have to go through some difficulties, frustration, failures, then your life will be complete and more abundant, making you more mature as you learn more," Zhang said.
"To be honest, I think I've learned more from my failures, not my success. I've become a different person, mentally, psychologically, from all perspectives. I know more clearly what I want, and I can stay more focused on what I want. So, it was a starting point for me. I don't think it was my peak. My peak is yet to come."
It's hard to argue with the 32-year-old.
Despite the losses to Namajunas last year, it's clear that the signs of progress are there for Zhang.
Entering the sport, like so many Chinese athletes, as a high-level striker, Zhang has evolved as a fighter during that time.
More recently, Zhang has been focusing on developing a wrestling game that can complement her already brutal punching and kicking ability. Working with former double UFC champion and Olympic wrestling gold medallist Henry Cejudo and his team Fight Ready in Arizona, Zhang has already seen an uptick in her wrestling.
"Henry Cejudo's coach Captain Eric (Albarracin) will still help me this time. We will go to Thailand, so he will help me prepare for the fight. He will work on wrestling with me," Zhang added.
"I think there will be both standing and ground fights. I didn't think about taking the fight to the ground last time, I didn't try to wrestle with her last time and the bout lasted a five-rounds on the feet. I hope more variety in technique can be shown this time.
"I will use my MMA techniques better this time and integrate something new from myself. But the most important thing is the basics. How to train the basics better, like strength, speed, explosive force."
For Jedrzejczyk, the past two years have been very different. While Zhang continued to fight, Jedrzejczyk has been on a two-year sabbatical, taking time away from the sport. While many Zhang fans would hope that Jedrzejczyk would return with a touch of ring rust, Zhang isn't taking anything for granted.
"It's possible [that Jedrzejczyk will be rusty], but I can't deny her abilities. While an athlete won't train systematically if they stay away from fights for a long time, she will take this fight with me seriously since she has been eager for the rematch with me. She has been back training for quite some time.
"I don't really know. All I know is she's training in the US. She usually trains at ATT [American Top Team] in the US but sometimes in Poland. She has a good team with some UFC champions."
However, Zhang did admit planning for a fighter who has been outside of the ring for an extended period posed some challenges when devising a game-plan and training camp strategy.
"We'll only see inside the octagon if these changes or adjustments work. Because everything in training is designed based on what and how she did in previous fights. We also try to think from the perspective of herself and her coaching team. What would I do if I was her."
It's clear that Zhang is determined to get back on track after her recent difficulties. While accepting the result, Zhang still believes that the split decision loss against Namajunas should have gone her way.
"Well, I think I definitely won the first three rounds. Probably not the second half of the fourth and the fifth. But I definitely had the first three rounds."
It was a fight and training camp that stacked the odds in the American's favor. Zhang, whose home gym is based in a northern Beijing suburb, was forced to fly across the time zones nursing a knee injury and without her jiujitsu coach, someone who could have been vital in the final two rounds with Zhang struggling to work off her back.
"My jujitsu coach didn't go with me due to some [personal] reasons and they taught me to escape from the lower position right after I came back. In fact, I wasn't in perfect shape in terms of stamina in the last fight and my knee injury should also account for the loss.
"I used to like swiping my legs in the lower position but my knees hurt and my energy ran out quickly. Nothing played out smoothly."
Fortunately for Zhang, who never had the chance to defend her belt in her home country, this fight will take place in the more comfortable surroundings of Singapore.
"First of all the jet lag. It's not that tough in Singapore because the jet lag has always been a thing to me and I've always had full 5-round fights every time I went abroad.
"So this time when I heard about Singapore, I asked about it. I wanted to take part in the Singapore fight. So here I am.
"It's absolutely impossible to say that the location doesn't have an impact. There's definitely some kind of impact. The time difference, the long flights, the absence of my team members, it can all affect the state of the athlete."
Yet, any lingering grievance that she may still feel has been pushed aside as the Beijing resident looks to secure an eye-catching win to put herself back in the title picture.
"I will win. I think it's full of possibilities, whether it's KO, submission, TKO, anything is possible. But I don't want it to go the distance. I think if I can take out Joanna really fast in our next fight, I might have a chance for a title fight."
