Tightening her grip on greatness

Zhang Weili looks to cement legacy as China's UFC champ steps back into Octagon for latest title defense

With the Ultimate Fighting Championship expected to imminently confirm its return to China, reigning strawweight queen Zhang Weili is determined to keep hold of her belt and bolster mixed martial arts' soaring momentum in her homeland.

Back on top again in one of the most competitive women's divisions, the superstar is opening a new chapter of her storied career, with renewed focus on extending her supremacy and helping to accelerate MMA's move into China's sports mainstream.

The mission got underway on Monday as she departed for combat sports capital Las Vegas to prepare for the first defense of her second reign against Brazilian challenger Amanda Lemos — an opponent Zhang has long held in high esteem.

"I remember watching her fight a few years ago when she was not even ranked. I felt back then that she was capable of climbing the ranks, because of her punching power and her impressive movement," Zhang said of Lemos in an online interview last week.

"Somewhere and somehow I felt we would meet in the future and here we are."

But while Zhang clearly rates and respects Lemos, she is confident of ultimately seeing off the challenger when they meet in the co-main event of UFC 292 in Boston on Aug 19.

"Amanda is a very complete fighter, but I'm even better," said Zhang, who dethroned American veteran Carla Esparza via a second-round submission in New York in November to recapture the 115-pound (52-kilogram) belt.

"I'm bracing myself for all possible scenarios and perfecting my all-around craft — striking, grappling and wrestling.

"Yet I am preparing for and fighting against only one opponent — myself. I believe I can retain the belt against any challenger as long as I deliver my best in a bout."

Schooled in the traditional sanda, or Chinese kickboxing, system, "Magnum" Zhang, who holds a 23-3 record with 11 KOs, shot to fame in August 2019 when she wrested the strawweight belt off another Brazilian fighter, Jessica Andrade, with a TKO win in Shenzhen, Guangdong province.

She lost the crown in her second defense to American challenger Rose Namajunas two years later. However, a second straight win against former titleholder Joanna Jedrzejczyk of Poland with a spectacular KO secured with a spinning backfist last June landed her a second shot at the title, then held by Esparza.

Been there, been knocked down and now back stronger — but Zhang says her evolution as a fighter is not just about the work she puts in at the gym.

"I've become calmer, not just as an athlete but as a human being," said Zhang, whose UFC career hit an all-time low when she lost her rematch against Namajunas via split decision in November 2021.

"After all the ups and downs, I've learned to always focus on myself and the present, and to not get carried away by any attention, praise or criticism from the outside.

"A fighter is powerful when she beats her opponent, but one steps closer to greatness only after going beyond oneself.

"I feel like I still have a lot of potential technique-wise and physically to tap into even though I've won the division twice. I'd like to try to go beyond myself and see where I can be."

Lemos, aka "Amandinha", is considered a sizable underdog against Zhang but is predicting a fierce battle.

"Weili is very dangerous, so I have to stay alert to all her moves," Lemos (13-2) told MMA Fighting's recent Trocacao Franca podcast.

"We're studying her explosiveness in training. It's going to be a super tough fight. We'll give our all in there. She wants her belt, I want that belt for myself, so it definitely won't be left in the hands of the judges."

'Exciting moment'

UFC 292 will feature another Chinese talent — men's bantamweight fighter Song Yadong, who will square off against American Rob Font in a preliminary 135-pound bout.

Song (20-7) has won four of his last five fights and is ranked eighth in the division. The "Kungfu Monkey" is looking to leapfrog the seventh-ranked Font to establish himself as a potential title challenger in his next bout.

"We have a big and exciting moment next month with UFC 292 featuring two of our biggest stars Weili and Yadong from China," Kevin Chang, UFC senior vice-president and head of UFC Asia, told China Daily in a recent interview.

"Weili is defending her belt against a very tough opponent in Lemos but feels confident as ever. She's a beast and she has a global fan following because of her style. It's pretty obvious from her recent performances to say the least.

"We're confident of seeing some impressive things from her again."

Chang anticipates Song's bout could be another step for the bantamweight on the road to becoming the first male Chinese world-title challenger in UFC.

"Yadong is right on the cut of title contention, and with a victory over Rob Font he might be next in line (for a title shot), just depending on that fight and how it goes," he said.

With Chinese stars performing well and the country now open again for international sporting events, Chang indicated that a live UFC fight night in China is on the way.

"It's still a bit too early for us to make any official announcements, but you can expect to hear from us very soon," he said.

"We have this huge pool of our next generation of Chinese athletes and they need a chance to shine on the world stage and where better to do it than in China. So we do have big plans going forward."

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn