Weili Zhang gets shout for next UFC opponent from Mark Zuckerberg

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.

‘Magnum’ regained the UFC Women’s Strawweight belt with a second round rear-naked choke submission against Carla Esparza, In the wake of her histroic win at Madison Square Garden, Weili Zhang posted the following message on Instagram:

“I have been reminding myself to try my best to be neither servile nor overbearing, sober and wise, to approach and reach the goal little by little. Now I have proved myself once again, which is the most wonderful moment. I look forward to better myself, you will see a better game, thank you! Every success is inseparable from teamwork. We put in a lot, thank you to our team, thank you to every member of our team, thank you to every coach, we worked together, we grew together, thank you to all the friends who helped me Thank you to all the friends who love this sport.”

 

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A post shared by Weili Zhang 张伟丽 (@zhangweilimma)

Weili Zhang received a wave of congratulations from her fellow fighters as well as Zuckerberg who chimed in to suggest she challenge flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko.

“Congrats! I’d love to see you fight Valentina for a second belt…,” wrote Zuckerberg.

Weili Zhang subsequently climbed 3 places in the women’s pound-for-pound rankings. Sitting one place above her is Shevchenko. The Kyrgyz-Peruvian has carved out an imperious run at 125 lb. The 34-year-old is riding a 9-fight winning streak and her only losses in the Octagon have gone down in other divisions.

The Chinese star fought at flyweight early on in her career, so a crack at Shevchenko’s title could be feasible. The Kunlun veteran has looked very much back to her best since losing a pair of fights to Rose Namajunas.

3 of her last 4 victories have come via stoppage and she could well have it in her arsenal stop unseat ‘Bullet.’

Would you like to see Weili Zhang vs Valentina Shevchenko?