Weili Zhang News

Tom Taylor - December 28, 2020

Brandon Moreno was involved in one of the best fights of 2020, but he doesn’t believe he’s the most deserving candidate of Fight of the Year honors. Moreno dropped jaws earlier this month, when he battled UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo to a thrilling draw in the main event of UFC 256. While the two flyweight stars deserve plenty of credit for that incredible contest, Moreno himself feels Fight of the Year honors should go to another UFC championship war: Zhang Weili’s March defeat of Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

Adam Martin - December 16, 2020

Team Rose Namajunas has refuted UFC president Dana White’s claims that she does not want a title shot against strawweight champ Weili Zhang. After beating Jessica Andrade by split decision at UFC 251 in a “Fight of the Night” performance on Fight Island this past summer, White said that Namajunas was next in line to fight Zhang. Very recently we heard that the UFC was close to figuring out a date for this bout, but it appears that it might not happen now. On Wednesday, White made comments to BT suggesting that Namajunas isn’t interested in a title shot against Zhang and that the promotion is considering giving the next title shot to former champ Carla Esparza instead.

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.”

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.

Tom Taylor - July 16, 2020

Former UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas believes she’s the next woman in line for the reigning champion Weili Zhang. Whenever the matchup happens, she expects it to be a beautiful display of martial arts. Namajunas discussed this compelling strawweight matchup in a recent interview with MMA Junkie. She says she believes that’s what’s next for her, but concedes that it’s far from official just yet.

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.

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.

Tom Taylor - May 15, 2020

UFC strawweight champion Weili Zhang has finally emerged from a lengthy period of quarantine in her native China, and she’s already plotting her next challenge in the Octagon. After she defeated Joanna Jedrzejczyk in one of the greatest fights of all time back in March, Zhang got stranded in the United States due to the coronavirus pandemic. When she finally made it back to China, she was forced to endure a two-week period of isolation as a precaution.

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.

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.

Adam Martin - March 12, 2020

UFC women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang shared details of an emotional moment she had with rival Joanna Jedrzejczyk at the hospital following UFC 248. Zhang and Jedrzejczyk went toe-to-toe for 25 minutes in the co-main event of UFC 248, producing a banger of a title fight that pundits immediately called an instant classic. Both women landed hundreds of strikes on each other’s faces and bodies in a bloody battle that is already being labeled one of the greatest MMA fights of all time.

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.

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.

Tom Taylor - March 9, 2020

Dana White is very high on UFC strawweight champion Weili Zhang, who defended her belt in an absolute war with the former champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk in the co-main event of last Saturday’s UFC 248 card. White gushed over Zhang at the UFC 248 post-fight press conference, announcing that the Chinese champion has become a major needle-mover in her homeland, a territory the UFC is working hard to break into.