Ronda Rousey praises Weili Zhang for title win at UFC Shenzhen

Women’s MMA trailblazer Ronda Rousey offered praise for the performance of new UFC strawweight champion Weili Zhang in the main event of UFC China.

The long-time UFC women’s bantamweight champion took to her Instagram to post a congratulatory message to Zhang, who needed just 42 seconds to finish Jessica Andrade and become the new champ at 115lbs.

Here’s what Rousey said.

“The future is bright – amazing performance👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼Congrats champ! @zhangweilimma”

Zhang getting this kind of praise from a fighter as popular and as respected as Rousey is obviously huge for growing her star power. UFC president Dana White surely loved that his former cash cow gave some love to Zhang, who appears to be someone who could be a massive star for the promotion as it looks to grow the sport in Asia. Zhang’s win over Andrade could truly help put the sport of MMA on the map in China and beyond.

Zhang (20-1) has looked unbelievable since joining the UFC roster last summer. She’s already a perfect 4-0 inside the Octagon with wins over Andrade, Tecia Torres, Jessica Aguilar and Danielle Taylor. Dating back to 2013, when she lost a decision in her pro debut, Zhang has won 20 straight fights overall, and looks to be a dominant champ for some time to come. She currently awaits for her next challenger to emerge.

As for Rousey, she retired from MMA back in 2017 after losing back-to-back fights by knockout to Amanda Nunes and Holly Holm. Since then, Rousey has done professional wrestling with the WWE where she was a long-time champion there, and she has also did a lot of acting as well. She is a trailblazer for the women’s side of MMA and for Zhang to get a compliment from someone like her is huge.

What do you make of Ronda Rousey congratulating Weili Zhang on her win?