Weili Zhang News

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

We have you covered for all of tonight’s UFC 292 results, including the co-main event title fight between Zhang Weili and Amanda Lemos. Zhang Weili (22-3 MMA) will be 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 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.

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.

Josh Evanoff - December 5, 2022

UFC women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang believes she’ll meet Valentina Shevchenko in the octagon. ‘Magnum’ is fresh off her title bid against Carla Esparza last month at UFC 281. In that outing, Zhang became a two-time women’s strawweight champion, defeating ‘Cookie Monster’ by submission. The Chinese fighter was also given a ‘Performance of the Night’ bonus for her victory.

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.

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

Tonight’s UFC 281 event is co-headlined by a women’s strawweight title fight featuring Carla Esparza taking on Weili Zhang. Esparza (19-7 MMA) 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 has seen her defeat the likes of 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.

Josh Evanoff - November 3, 2022

Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang looks ready to earn back her gold. ‘Magnum’ has been out of action since her rematch with Joanna Jędrzejczyk in June. Their first outing two years prior was one of the greatest women’s MMA fights of all time. Zhang won that first bout by split decision, but wouldn’t need the judges in the second.

Susan Cox - September 20, 2022

Kamaru Usman is speaking about the possibility of Weili Zhang defeating Carla Esparza at UFC 281. It will be Carla Esparza (19-6 MMA) vs Weili Zhang (22-3 MMA) in the strawweight co-main event at UFC 281 on Saturday November 12, 2022 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Josh Evanoff - August 30, 2022

UFC women’s strawweight contender Weili Zhang is prepared for her fight with Carla Esparza. ‘Magnum’ has been out of action since June. At UFC 275, Zhang faced Joanna Jędrzejczyk in a rematch of their famous brawl in March 2020. In that outing, the Chinese fighter won by split decision after five rounds of pure chaos.

Harry Kettle - August 19, 2022

Fight fans have reacted to the news that Carla Esparza will defend the UFC strawweight championship against Weili Zhang. Ever since her controversial win over Rose Namajunas earlier this year, fans have been wondering what the next step is going to be for Carla Esparza. The veteran, who was the first ever champion in the weight class, is a legend in the strawweight division and is now a two-time champ as a result of her second triumph against ‘Thug Rose’.

Josh Evanoff - June 24, 2022

If Carla Esparza isn’t interested in fighting Weili Zhang, Mackenzie Dern would love to. ‘Magnum’ is fresh off a victory over Joanna Jędrzejczyk earlier this month at UFC 275. Following the knockout win, Zhang called for a fight with the champion later this year. While Dana White confirmed that he will make the fight, Esparza later said the challenger will go on her timeline.

Josh Evanoff - June 15, 2022

Daniel Cormier believes that UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza will be a massive underdog to Weili Zhang. ‘Cookie Monster’ re-captured the UFC’s strawweight title following a win over Rose Namajunas last month. The win saw her move her win-streak to six, and become champion for the first time since 2015. However, her win over ‘Thug Rose’ was also blasted as one of the worst fights in UFC history.