Weili Zhang News

Adam Martin - November 20, 2020

UFC president Dana White said that a Valentina Shevchenko vs. Amanda Nunes trilogy is possible, as is a superfight against Weili Zhang. Shevchenko, the reigning and defending UFC women’s flyweight champion, puts her belt on the line this weekend at UFC 255 when she takes on Jennifer Maia in the co-main event. Shevchenko has gone a perfect 5-0 since moving down to 125lbs and looks to hold the belt for a long time. Should she get by Maia this weekend as the betting odds suggest she will, the calls for a tougher matchup for Shevchenko in her next fight will be high.

Tom Taylor - November 17, 2020

Pedro Jordao, one of the coaches behind UFC strawweight champion Weili Zhang, says his pupil is likely to defend her title against Rose Namajunas in early 2021. “We’ll see how things go with this virus,” Jordao told MMA Fighting, laying out the timeframe for a long rumored fight between Zhang and Namajunas. “But I think (the fight) will probably be in the first quarter. … We’re training for a while here. It appears that her next fight will be against Rose, but nothing is set yet. Everything indicates that’s the plan — and it makes sense, everybody knows that.”

Adam D Martin - November 8, 2020

UFC women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang could have a new title challenger in the form of fellow China native Yan Xiaonan. Zhang is, of course, the UFC champion at women’s 115lbs and she is one of the best female fighters in the world. At 21-1, Zhang hasn’t lost since her MMA debut in 2013. Since joining the UFC in 2018, Zhang is a perfect 5-0 in the Octagon. She won the title from Jessica Andrade in August 2019 and successfully defended it against rival Joanna Jedrzejczyk in March 2020 at UFC 248 in one of the best fights of the year thus far.

Tom Taylor - September 13, 2020

The UFC is working on a strawweight title fight between reigning champion Weili Zhang and the division’s former champion, Rose Namajunas, per the promotion’s president Dana White. White was asked what’s next for Zhang at the conclusion of Saturday’s UFC Vegas 10 card, which was headlined by a clash of ranked strawweights in Michelle Waterson and Angela Hill.

Christopher Taylor - July 12, 2020

Rose Namajunas offered a good-natured apology to reigning UFC strawweight champion Weili Zhang shortly following the conclusion of UFC 251. The former women’s strawweight champion, Namajunas (9-5 MMA), was making her Octagon return at tonight’s inaugural Fight Island event in a rematch against the woman who took her title, Jessica Andrade.

Chris Taylor - July 1, 2020

Former UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas does not believe that Weili Zhang vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk should take home “fight of the year” honors. Zhang (21-1 MMA) put her title on the line against former division queen Jedrzejczyk (16-4 MMA) in the co-headliner of March’s UFC 248 pay-per-view event. The result was one of the greatest fights in the history of not only women’s MMA, but mixed martial arts in general.

Harry Kettle - June 12, 2020

Daniel Cormier has said that he doesn’t agree with Weili Zhang being ahead of Valentina Shevchenko in the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings. In the wake of Amanda Nunes’ dominant victory over Felicia Spencer, there has been a great deal of talk surrounding the upper tier of women’s fighters in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and who belongs in that discussion.

Adam Martin - May 28, 2020

UFC women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang says that her “preference” is to fight Rose Namajunas in her next title defense at 115lbs. Zhang is coming off of a split decision win over Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 248 in one of the best women’s MMA fights of all time. It was Zhang’s first title defense since winning the belt with a first-round TKO win over Jessica Andrade at UFC China last year. All told, Zhang is on a 21-fight win streak and is a perfect 5-0 while competing in the UFC.

Cole Shelton - April 23, 2020

Weili Zhang is one of the newer UFC champions but she has been undefeated inside the Octagon. The China native won the belt last August with a quick knockout win over Jessica Andrade. She then defended her title in an absolute war against Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 248. Zhang has shown her knockout power but has also proven she has the cardio to go five hard rounds and keep coming forward. She also has good takedown defense and solid jiu-jitsu leaving her hard to beat. But, the strawweight division has a plethora of challenges like Tatiana Suarez, Rose Namajunas, and rematches with Jedrzejczyk and Andrade.

Adam D Martin - April 19, 2020

UFC women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang is finally headed home to China after being stuck in the United States following UFC 248. Zhang fought rival Joanna Jedrzejczyk for five hard rounds in the co-main event of UFC 248 in an instant classic that is already regarded as one of the best fights in UFC history. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Zhang has been unable to travel back home to her native China and has stayed in Las Vegas for over a month since UFC 248 took place in nearly March.

Cole Shelton - March 27, 2020

Weili Zhang isn’t interested in running things back with Joanna Jedrzejczyk just yet. The two fought in the co-main event of UFC 248 where they put one of the greatest fights of all time. It was a back-and-forth affair that resulted in Zhang edging out a very narrow split decision win to defend her strawweight belt.

Tom Taylor - March 24, 2020

UFC strawweight champion Weili Zhang still hasn’t returned to her native China after her UFC 248 war with Joanna Jedrzejczyk. The champion elected to stay put in Las Vegas for up to a month, not only to avoid potential exposure to the coronavirus, but to simplify the stringent United States Anti-Doping Agency tests she’s subject to as a UFC champ.

Cole Shelton - March 11, 2020

Chael Sonnen doesn’t believe Valentina Shevchenko vs. Weili Zhang is a true superfight, at least not yet. Zhang has talked about wanting to fight Shevchenko down the line, but the flyweight champion doesn’t seem so interested. She said the Chinese champion isn’t an elite fighter and will loser her belt in her next fight. So, a champion vs. champion fight doesn’t make sense, and Sonnen agrees.

Tom Taylor - March 11, 2020

The official UFC rankings have been updated after last Saturday’s UFC 248 card, and in a fairly surprising twist, not much has changed. That’s probably because UFC 248 featured precisely zero ranked fighters outside the main and co-main events. That being said, the updated UFC rankings do feature some interesting changes. Most notably, Weili Zhang has surpassed Valentina Shevchenko on the women’s pound-for-pound list on the strength of her UFC 248 defeat of Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Daniel Cormier has also finally been removed from the UFC light heavyweight rankings, clearing the path for a host of other light heavyweights to move up.

Natasha Hooper - March 9, 2020

Women’s MMA is needed now more than ever before. At UFC 248, fans witnessed an all-out war from strawweight royalty Weili Zhang and Joanna Joanna Jędrzejczyk. The pair collided in an action-packed brawl that seemingly overshadowed the main event between Israel Adesanya vs Yoel Romero. Out of left field, MMA fighter Islam Makhachev disregarded the female athletes with a now-deleted tweet, “this is not a women’s sport” he stated. Even Dana White previously dismissed the idea of a women’s division in the UFC. The MMA anti-female rhetoric attracts criticism but nevertheless highlights an ongoing perception that females should not fight.

Cole Shelton - March 9, 2020

Valentina Shevchenko doubts Weili Zhang will be a UFC champion for much longer. In the co-main event of UFC 248, Zhang edged out a split-decision win over Joanna Jedrzejczyk. The win also served as her first title defense since winning the belt with a first-round knockout win over Jessica Andrade.

Adam Martin - March 9, 2020

Bellator commentator and veteran MMA official Big John McCarthy has share his scorecard for the UFC 248 co-main event between Weili Zhang and Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Zhang and Jedrzejczyk put on an instant classic on Saturday night, going the full five-round distance against each other in an all-out war. Zhang won the fight by split decision, but Jedrzejczyk saw her stock rise by putting on an incredible performance even despite losing. McCarthy, who knows a thing or two about fighting, was asked by host Josh Thomson on the “Weighing In” podcast what he thought about the fight, and he praised both women for their performances.

Adam Martin - March 5, 2020

NFL legend Tom Brady shared his prediction for the UFC 248 co-main event between UFC women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang and Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Brady, the longtime quarterback of the New England Patriots and a six-time Super Bowl winner, is good friends with UFC president Dana White, who has season tickets for the Pats. Brady is in the final year of his contract with the Patriots and can become a free agent in two weeks’ time, and White has been trying to help lure him to the Las Vegas Raiders.