UFC women's strawweight champion Zhang Weili has called out challenger Joanna Jedrzejczyk for an Instagram post joking about the Coronavirus.
Jedrzejczyk is set to challenge Weili at UFC 248 in March and she took to social media in an attempt at mindgames.
The Polish fighter posted an image of herself in a gas mask with laughing emojis above it.
Weili is Chinese and the country is currently in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak, with the death toll currently at 170.
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The 30-year-old took to Instagram and fumed at the attempted mind games from her opponent.
She begins her statement with, 'To make fun of tragedy is a true sign of ones character.'
The Beijing native then goes on to say:
"People are dying, someones father, someones mother, someones child. Say what you want about me if it makes you feel stronger but do not joke about what's happening here.
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"I wish you good health until March 7th. I will see you soon."
Per ESPN, Jedrzejczyk attempted to clarify her post with a message for Zhang in her Instagram story on Wednesday.
She explained:
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"Hey, champ, hey Weili, so sorry to make you feel bad, but I would never make fun of sick people with illness or virus," Jedrzejczyk said in a video.
"So I didn't want you to get offended. But I just made fun of the funny internet meme. So, so sorry. Still, I will see you March 7. And don't get emotional, OK?"
Weili has been strawweight champion since August after defeating Jessica Andrade in Shenzhen.
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Jedrzejczyk will be here first title defence.
The main event of the show is set to see Israel Adesanya defend his middleweight title against Yoel Romero.
Featured Image Credit: PA