Weili Zhang News

Harry Kettle - February 18, 2024

The official main card lineup has been revealed for the blockbuster UFC 300 main event in April. For months now, there’s been a tremendous amount of hype behind UFC 300. It’s the kind of landmark event that has the potential to be absolutely huge if the promotion gets behind it in the right way. Last night, we also got an official announcement regarding the main event, with Dana White revealing that Alex Pereira will defend his UFC light heavyweight championship against Jamahal Hill in the headline slot.

Josh Evanoff - February 5, 2024

Former UFC rivals Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Zhang Weili had a nice meeting earlier this week. The rivalry between ‘Magnum’ and the Polish fighter is likely to go down as one of the best in women’s MMA history. Back in March 2020 at UFC 248, Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Zhang Weili met for the first time. With women’s strawweight gold on the line, the two went back and forth for 25 minutes.

Harry Kettle - December 19, 2023

Zhang Weili and Alexa Grasso have seemingly agreed to a superfight between them at UFC 300 next year. When you take a look at the most important fighters in women’s MMA today, Zhang Weili and Alexa Grasso are at the top of that list. They may not be the biggest stars, but they are the ones with the gold. They’ve done brilliantly to vault themselves into this championship position, and now, their big job is to stay there.

Fernando Quiles - October 1, 2023

UFC women’s strawweight champion Zhang Weili gave Shaquille O’Neal a punch he likely won’t soon forget. Shaq, an NBA legend and a well-known personality, is no stranger to the UFC. He’s attended a slew of live events from the promotion throughout the years. He even struck a deal to be featured in the UFC Undisputed 2010 video game as an unlockable character.

Susan Cox - August 21, 2023

Former ‘champ champ’ Daniel Cormier is addressing ‘the one thing that hurts’ current UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili. Zhang Weili (24-3 MMA)  is indeed the UFC stawweight champion, successfully defending her title against Amanda Lemos  (13-3 MMA) last Saturday night at UFC 292 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.

Susan Cox - August 21, 2023

Dana White is crediting Amanda Lemos for her ‘toughness’ but says she was ‘completely outclassed’ by Zhang Weili at UFC 292. UFC 292 took place this past Saturday, August 19th at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.

Fernando Quiles - August 20, 2023

Zhang Weili has an idea of who could challenge her next for the UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship. Weili competed in the co-main event of UFC 292. She put her gold at stake against Amanda Lemos. While Lemos showed tremendous heart, Weili’s pressure and top control dominated the fight. The bout went all five rounds and Weili retained her gold via unanimous decision.

Chris Taylor - August 19, 2023

Tonight’s UFC 292 was co-headlined by a strawweight title fight between Zhang Weili and Amanda Lemos. Zhang Weili (23-3 MMA) was returning to action for the first time since recapturing the women’s strawweight title with a submission win over Carla Esparza at UFC 281 in November of last year. That victory had marked ‘Magum’s’ second in a row, as she had previously knocked out former champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 275.

Chris Taylor - August 19, 2023

The Octagon returns to Boston for tonight’s UFC 292 event, a twelve-bout fight card headlined by Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O’Malley. O’Malley (16-1 MMA) will be fighting for UFC gold for the first time this evening in Boston. ‘Suga’ is coming off a split decision win over former bantamweight champion Petr Yan in his most recent Octagon appearance, which occurred at UFC 280 in October of last year. Prior to that, the 28-year-old went toe-to-toe with Pedro Munhoz in a bout that was ultimately ruled a no-contest due to an accidental eye poke.

Cole Shelton - August 17, 2023

In the co-main event of UFC 292, the strawweight title is up for grabs as Zhang Weili looks to defend her title against Amanda Lemos. Heading into the scrap, Weili is a sizeable -340 favorite while the Brazilian is a +250 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The pros are unanimous in thinking Zhang Weili will defend her belt at UFC 292 and likely will do so by stoppage in the later rounds.

Susan Cox - August 17, 2023

Strawweight champion Zhang Weili is sharing her gameplan for her UFC 292 title fight with Amanda Lemos. UFC 292 takes place this coming Saturday, August 19th at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The co-main event will feature current champion Zhang Weili (23-3 MMA) going up against Amanda Lemos (13-2 MMA) in the women’s strawweight title fight.

Cole Shelton - February 16, 2023

Jessica Andrade is hoping to earn a strawweight title shot on Saturday. Andrade has been bouncing between strawweight and flyweight and will compete at 125lbs in the main event of UFC Vegas 69 as she steps up on short notice to take on Erin Blanchfield. Andrade is coming off a decision win over Lauren Murphy and should she get past Blanchfield, she could get a title shot at flyweight, but she believes this fight can also secure her a rematch against Weili for the strawweight belt.

Harry Kettle - November 22, 2022

Weili Zhang has admitted that she was surprised to hear fans booing Carla Esparza during their showdown at UFC 281. Earlier this month at UFC 281, Weili Zhang regained the UFC strawweight championship. After a competitive first round, the Chinese sensation submitted Carla Esparza to become a two-time champ.

Andrew Whitelaw - November 16, 2022

Mark Zuckerberg has been getting more involved in Mixed Martial Arts in recent months. The Meta CEO went viral in September when he posted a video of his MMA training alongside Bellator veteran Khai Wu. ‘Zuck’ escalated his interest in the sport when he rented out the APEX Arena for a small group of his friends to watch UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Yan. Having Witnessed Yan bag the unanimous decision on the night, Zuckerberg reached out to her countrywoman Weili Zhang this week following her title win at UFC 281.

Cole Shelton - November 14, 2022

The UFC returned to Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York for a stacked UFC 281 that saw both titles change hands. In the main event, Israel Adesanya was looking to defend his middleweight title against Alex Pereira. The co-main event saw Carla Esparza looking to defend her strawweight belt against Zhang Weili. Also on the main card was a lightweight bout between Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler.

Chris Taylor - November 12, 2022

Tonight’s UFC 281 event was co-headlined by a women’s strawweight title fight featuring Carla Esparza taking on Weili Zhang. Esparza (19-7 MMA) had recaptured the 115lbs title at May’s UFC 274 event, scoring a split-decision win over Rose Namajunas. That victory served as ‘The Cookie Monster’s’ sixth in a row, a streak which included wins over Yan Xiaonan, Marina Rodriguez, Michelle Waterson and Alexa Grasso.

Chris Taylor - November 12, 2022

The Octagon returns to New York for tonight’s UFC 281 event, a fourteen-bout fight card headlined by Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira. Adesanya (23-1 MMA) and Pereira (6-1 MMA) of course have a history, with ‘Poatan’ having defeated ‘Stylebender’ on two occasions in the Glory kickboxing ring.

Cole Shelton - November 10, 2022

In the co-main event of UFC 281, the strawweight title is on the line as Carla Esparza looks to defend her belt for the first time as she takes on Zhang Weili. Heading into the fight, Esparza is a +285 underdog while the challenger is a massive -400 favorite on FanDuel. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro-fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The pros expect Weili to reclaim her strawweight title and even some expect her to finish Esparza.