Ruthless Zhang reclaims her throne

Chinese MMA superstar crowned UFC strawweight champion for second time with clinical victory in New York

Back on top of the world again, Zhang Weili cemented her international stardom in the Octagon as China celebrates the return of the strawweight queen.

A year since losing her rematch against Rose Namajunas at Madison Square Garden, Zhang rejuvenated her career at the same venue in New York on Saturday as she reclaimed the Ultimate Fighting Championship's strawweight title by dethroning wrestling specialist Carla Esparza via a second-round submission to announce her return to supremacy in the division.

Fighting for a second time at the packed MSG, Zhang turned the iconic arena into a "home court" as a rear-naked choke secured victory over Esparza just one minute and five seconds into the second stanza.

The winning choke against an opponent who has so often triumphed with similar maneuvers sparked a rousing reaction from the crowd, which included A-list celebrities such as boxing legend Mike Tyson and Hollywood star Sylvester Stallone, at UFC 281.

Leaving the Octagon with the 115-pound (52-kilogram) strap around her waist again, Zhang paid tribute to the support from home and abroad for carrying her through a tough 19-month period of her career.

"The first time I became champion, I did it at home. This time it was in New York, but I feel like I have the same level of support as I had at home," said Zhang, who first won the strawweight belt in August 2019 in China before losing it to Namajunas in her second defense in April 2021.

"Before, maybe I was just the Weili of China. Now I am the Weili of the world," said a proud Zhang, who improved to a 23-3 career win-loss record.

"Every day I dreamed of this, my belt coming back. Now I feel like my dream (has come true)," Zhang said emotionally in English in the post-fight interview.

"I am so proud of myself and my team. We achieved the goal to bring the belt back to China again that we set out with when we left home at the beginning of the year.

"Everyone will face challenges and setbacks. Resilience and perseverance will help you prevail," said the 33-year-old native of Hebei province.

UFC president Dana White expects Zhang's win to massively boost the sport's profile in China.

"What you need to ignite a market is a bad-ass fighter from that region. And she is awesome," said White.

"I love everything about her. I love the way she fights, I love the way she trains, she is an absolute killer. And I love the fact that she loves to win so much. I can't say enough good things about her."

Entering the bout as the favorite, Zhang enjoyed louder cheers from the crowd than those directed to her 35-year-old Californian rival.

The first round was closely contested. Esparza, who outlasted Namajunas in May to win the belt, had her moments with a few takedowns but Zhang landed the more significant punches.

In the second round, Esparza went for a takedown but Zhang snatched her back in a scramble, then trapped Esparza's left arm with both of her legs before eventually locking in to tap out the American veteran.

A proven world-class striker on her feet, Zhang's counter-control on the ground and clinically executed choke on Esparza, who holds the record for most takedowns (44) in the UFC, spoke volumes of her evolution into a more complete force in the Octagon.

"I expected her to be good everywhere. She obviously has great striking, her grappling has been improving. I knew she is going to be strong. At this level, fighting a former champ, you only expect the best," Esparza, who won the division's inaugural title in 2014, said after the fight.

Zhang became the first Chinese and only the third woman in the world to hold the strawweight belt multiple times, joining Esparza and Namajunas who have both won it twice.

Regarded as a hero in China since wresting the UFC title from Brazilian fighter Jessica Andrade in 2019, Zhang cemented her role-model status across the Chinese sports community by successfully defending her title against Joanna Jedrzejczyk in March 2020, when China was battling the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, Zhang suffered a shock knockout loss to Namajunas in her next fight before losing a rematch by split decision to "Thug" Rose in November 2021. Ever since, she has been working her way back to title contention.

A brutal knockout win via a spinning backfist in a rematch against Jedrzejczyk in June earned Zhang a shot at the title again.

During her preparations for the title challenge over the past four months in Thailand, Zhang focused on improving her grappling after her lack of ground skills was exposed in the two defeats to Namajunas.

Adesanya stunned

In the main event on Saturday night, Brazilian challenger Alex Pereira defeated Nigeria's Israel Adesanya via a fifth-round TKO to claim the middleweight title of the Las Vegas-based promotion.

The 35-year-old Pereira defeated Adesanya twice previously — once by knockout — in their old kickboxing days and the wins got the challenger fast-tracked to a title match after just three UFC fights.

"For everybody that said I couldn't do five rounds, look at what I did just now," Pereira said through an interpreter.

Pereira capped his rapid rise to the title in front of a Garden crowd going wild as he tagged Adesanya with a vicious right that sent the champion into the cage and then socked him with a hook. Adesanya slumped against the cage and Pereira went for the finishing blows but referee Marc Goddard stopped the bout at 2:01 in the fifth.

The 31-year-old Adesanya (23-2) got the MSG crowd on his side once he clobbered Pereira with a pounding right and then a fast left hand to the face that ended the first round and sent the challenger reeling.

Trying to shake off the beating, Pereira stood and beckoned fans to get louder as he waited for the bell to signal the second. He raised his arms again to the sellout crowd of 20,845, only this time in victory.