Weili Zhang News

Adam D Martin - November 7, 2021

UFC women’s strawweight champ Rose Namajunas discussed the trash-talking that was taking place during her rematch with Zhang Weili at UFC 268. Namajunas and Zhang met in the co-main event of UFC 268 in what was a highly-anticipated rematch between the current 115lbs women’s champ and the former champion. These two previously met back at UFC 261 in April, and it was Namajunas who landed a perfect head kick on Zhang and finished her with strikes. The rematch this time around was a much closer fight as both women had their moments in the bout. But ultimately it was the judges who sided with Namajunas winning the fight unanimously.

Adam D Martin - November 7, 2021

Weili Zhang issued a statement following her split decision loss to UFC women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas at UFC 268. Zhang fought as hard as she could over the course of 25 minutes, but ultimately it was Namajunas who edged out a narrow split decision on the judges’ scorecards. For Zhang, it is her second straight defeat to Namajunas after losing via head kick KO earlier this year at UFC 261. This second fight was much closer, and some fans even thought that Zhang deserved to win, but ultimately it was Namajunas who edged out the split decision win.

Christopher Taylor - November 7, 2021

Zhang Weili was hoping to reclaim the strawweight title when she squared off with Rose Namajunas tonight at Madison Square Garden. Zhang (21-2 MMA) and Namajunas (11-4 MMA) had originally clashed back at April’s UFC 261 event, with ‘Thug’ emerging victorious by way of knockout.

Chris Taylor - November 6, 2021

The Octagon returned to MSG for tonight’s UFC 268 event, a 14-bout fight card headlined by a rematch between Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington. The highly anticipated welterweight title fight rematch proved to be another thrilling war. Kamaru Usman was able to get off to a strong start in the fight and wound up dropping Colby Covington on two occasions in the second round. However, ‘Chaos’ stormed back in rounds three and four, leaving many to believe the fight was 2-2 after twenty minutes. The final five minutes resulted in another competitive round and following the final buzzer Usman and Covington couldn’t help but show each other some respect.

Christopher Taylor - November 6, 2021

Zhang Weili is looking to make a statement when she squares off with Rose Namajunas for a second time in tonight’s UFC 268 co-main event. Zhang (21-2 MMA) and Namajunas (10-4 MMA) originally collided back at April’s UFC 261 event, with ‘Thug Rose’ emerging victorious by way of first round knockout.

Chris Taylor - November 5, 2021

The Octagon returns to Madison Square Garden for UFC 268, a fourteen-bout fight card headlined by a rematch between Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington. Usman (19-1 MMA) and Covington (16-2 MMA) originally collided back at UFC 245 in December of 2019, with the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ emerging victorious by of a thrilling fifth round TKO.

Cole Shelton - November 3, 2021

In the co-main event of UFC 268, Rose Namajunas and Weili Zhang are running it back just seven months after Namajunas scored a 78-second TKO win. Heading into the fight, the champ is a +100 underdog while Zhang is the -120 favorite. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The pros are nearly unanimous in thinking Namajunas defends her belt again and likely does it by stoppage again.

Drake Riggs - October 19, 2021

Despite the strawweight division being loaded with contenders, Zhang Weili will get an instant rematch with new champion Rose Namajunas. First colliding with Namajunas at UFC 261 in April, Zhang (21-2) attempted to defend her 115-pound UFC crown for just the second time – her first coming over the legendary Joanna Jedrzejczyk in March 2020. Unfortunately for China’s first promotional titleholder, “Magnum” fell to a quick head kick knockout in only 78 seconds.

Drake Riggs - October 7, 2021

Zhang Weili and Rose Namajunas’ first encounter at UFC 261 in April became a lot more political than anticipated. Ahead of the strawweight title clash, Namajunas gave an interview to Lithuanian media where she expressed her thoughts on her background along with Zhang’s ultimately leading to her “better dead than red” comments.

Drake Riggs - October 4, 2021

Henry Cejudo is feeling rather confident in his new training partner. Ahead of her upcoming title fight rematch with Rose Namajunas, former champion Zhang Weili has taken her talents to the U.S. where she’s training in Scottsdale. Aiding “Magnum” at the Fight Ready team along the way is none other than the former dual-division titlist in Cejudo.

Drake Riggs - September 7, 2021

Carla Esparza feels she’s done enough to earn a UFC title shot. Unfortunately for the inaugural strawweight champion, the UFC has gone in a different direction. At UFC 268 on Nov. 6 in Madison Square Garden, Esparza will have to watch the immediate title rematch pitting new two-time champion Rose Namajunas against Zhang Weili in the co-main event.

Drake Riggs - September 6, 2021

Rose Namajunas and Zhang Weili are set to collide once more. With the fight now official for UFC 268 on Nov. 6 in New York City at the world-famous Madison Square Garden, opening odds for the strawweight title rematch have been released.

Chris Taylor - August 28, 2021

Two title fights are now official for November’s UFC 268 event, including a women’s strawweight rematch between Rose Namajunas and Weili Zhang. Namajunas (10-4 MMA) and Zhang (21-2 MMA) originally collided at April’s UFC 261 event, with ‘Thug Rose’ walking away a nasty first round finish (see that here).

Chris Taylor - August 21, 2021

Chris Weidman believes that “bad juju” from his gruesome injury at UFC 261 played a part in Weili Zhang’s title loss to Rose Namajunas. Weidman (15-6 MMA), a former UFC middleweight champion, squared off with perennial division contender Uriah Hall on April 24 in Jacksonville. The contest lasted all of seventeen seconds, as the first kick that Chris threw was checked by Hall and resulted in ‘The All American’ breaking his leg.

Adam D Martin - August 17, 2021

Former UFC champion Weili Zhang explained how Chris Weidman’s leg injury factored into her performance against Rose Namajunas at UFC 261. Zhang was starched with a high kick in the first round of her first UFC women’s strawweight title defense in the co-main event of UFC 261. It was a quick and brutal ending to Zhang’s short-lived reign as the champion, but according to “Magnum,” there are more reasons why she lost than just Namajunas being the better fighter that night. According to Zhang in a recent interview in the documentary “My Bronze Age,” she lost focus on her fight with Namajunas because, just two fights earlier, Weidman snapped his leg against Uriah Hall. According to the former champ, she couldn’t remain focused after that incident.

Drake Riggs - July 28, 2021

Zhang Weili is making it clear that she has accepted her first loss since her debut — but not without first overcoming the pain that came with it. The UFC’s first Chinese champion is currently in the middle of having a mini-documentary release where she’s gone into great detail about some moments in her career — including her most recent fight.

Drake Riggs - May 20, 2021

Zhang Weili and Beneil Dariush had mixed results in their most recent outings. However, they both were on the receiving end of negative crowd reactions. Dariush now finds himself sitting at the No. 3 ranked contender spot at lightweight after a dominant win over Tony Ferguson at UFC 262 this past weekend. The event was the second for the UFC to host a full crowd since the global pandemic.

Drake Riggs - May 18, 2021

Rose Namajunas drummed up some controversy ahead of her title tilt with Zhang Weili at UFC 261. For Zhang’s fellow China native and top strawweight contender, Yan Xiaonan, the comments could have been done without. In an interview with Lithuanian-based media before UFC 261, Namajunas would talk about her background and the upcoming matchup with Zhang. Ultimately it led to the now-infamous “better dead than red” comment which was a political insinuation. Yan believes the result of the comments did the opposite of what they should have.