Rose Namajunas, a Lithuanian-American mixed martial artist, and Weili Zhang, a Chinese mixed martial artist, are both among the top female fighters in the UFC and are set to fight at UFC 261 on April 24. On Wednesday, Namajunas made a statement defending her “red is dead” comment, talking about her upcoming fight against Zhang. “Red is dead” was a popular anti-communism slogan during the Cold War. Namajunas used the slogan in an interview talking about her upcoming fight because Zhang is from China, a communist country.

Rose Namajunas’ parents escaped from communist rule in Lithuania and Namajunas stated that this reason alone was why her fight against Zhang means more to her. Namajunas stated, “I’d probably have a very different life if it wasn’t for… how Lithuanians had to struggle with communism oppression.” She explained that after watching a documentary on Lithuania’s 1992 Olympic basketball team, “… it was a just a huge reminder of like, yeah, it’s better dead than red, you know? And I don’t think it’s any coincidence that Weili is red. That’s what she represents.” Namajunas went on to say that she holds no animosity towards Zhang, saying, “… I don’t hate Weili or anything like that… but I do feel as though I have a lot to fight for in this fight and what she represents.”

Weili Zhang said that she hoped she and Namajunas could be friends; Namajunas agreed.