Zhang Weili

Zhang Weili (; born September 30, 1990) is a Chinese professional mixed martial artist. She most recently competed in the women's Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she is the former two-time UFC Women's Strawweight Champion and the first Chinese fighter to win a UFC championship. A professional since 2013, Zhang formerly competed for Kunlun Fight (KLF), where she was the KLF Women's Strawweight Champion. As of June 20, 2026, she is #1 in the Meta UFC women's strawweight rankings, #5 in the Meta UFC women's flyweight rankings and as of November 25, 2025, she is #3 in the UFC women's pound-for-pound rankings.

Background Zhang was born in Handan, Hebei, China. Her father is a retired miner, and her mother is a housewife. She has one older brother, who quit his job as a gold trader to support Zhang's career, and now works at the gym where she trains.

She started training in martial arts at a young age, beginning at 6 with Shaolin Kung Fu under the tutelage of a local master, after she was inspired by Kung Fu films. In primary school, she practiced many sports including athletics, football and table tennis. When she was 12, her parents sent her to a specialized martial arts school in Handan where she began training in Sanda and Shuai Jiao.

At the age of 17 she moved to Beijing, where she worked various odd jobs: cashier at a supermarket, kindergarten teacher, security guard and hotel desk clerk. She also credited Ronda Rousey, and particularly her fight with Liz Carmouche in 2013, as giving her the motivation to quit her job and pursue MMA full-time.

Since Zhang began her career in the UFC, she has expressed her appreciation for Bruce Lee's philosophy and traditional Chinese martial arts several times. Before her fight with Yan Xiaonan at UFC 300, she said in an interview that she didn't want to limit herself to a single fighting style. Instead, her goal was to be like water — to change her form and tactics in response to her opponent's moves. She added that she had learned this from Tai Chi.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career Zhang made her professional MMA debut in 2013. After losing her professional debut to Meng Bo by unanimous decision, she would go on to win 11 straight fights before challenging Simone Duarte for the Kunlun Fight Female Strawweight Championship on May 25, 2017, at Kunlun Fight MMA 11. She won the fight via TKO in the second round.

Zhang made her first title defense against Aline Sattelmayer on June 1, 2017, at Kunlun Fight MMA 12. She won the fight by unanimous decision.

On July 22, 2017, Zhang attempted to win a second title, when she challenged Seo Ye-dam (서예담) for the vacant Top FC Strawweight Championship at TOP FC 15. She won the fight via TKO in the second round to capture the title.

Zhang would fight one more time for KLF, amassing a record of 16–1 and improving her winning streak to 16 before signing with the UFC. She won the fight via unanimous decision.

On November 24, 2018, Zhang faced Jessica Aguilar at UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Ngannou 2. She won the fight via an armbar submission in the first round.

Zhang faced Tecia Torres on March 3, 2019, at UFC 235. She won the fight via unanimous decision.

UFC Strawweight Champion Zhang faced Jéssica Andrade for the UFC Women's Strawweight Championship on August 31, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 157. She won the fight via first-round technical knockout to become the new strawweight champion, and the first UFC champion from China. The win also earned Zhang her first Performance of the Night bonus award.

In the first defense of her title, Zhang faced former strawweight champion Joanna Jędrzejczyk on March 7, 2020, at UFC 248. Zhang moved her training camp from China to Thailand and later moved to Dubai due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as TSA rules stated a two-week quarantine was imposed for any non-US citizen to be granted entry to the United States if they had recently been in China. After multiple failed attempts to obtain a US visa to fight in UFC's events in the US, on February 19, 2020, Zhang was granted US visa to fight at UFC 248. Zhang won the back–and–forth fight via split decision, which marked her first successful title defense. This win also marked her first Fight of the Night award. This bout was considered by many pundits as the greatest fight in women's MMA history.

In the second defense of her title, Zhang faced former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas on April 24, 2021, at UFC 261. She lost the fight by knockout early in the first round after getting caught with a head kick.

Post title reign and second title shot A rematch between Zhang and Namajunas for the UFC Women's Strawweight Championship took place on November 6, 2021, at UFC 268. After a back and forth bout, Weili lost the fight via split decision. 14 out of 22 media scores gave it to Namajunas.

A rematch between Zhang and Joanna Jędrzejczyk took place on June 11, 2022, at UFC 275. For this fight Zhang trained at Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA gym in Thailand and worked with Josh Hinger. and the Crypto.com "Fan Bonus of the Night" awards paid in bitcoin of US$10,000 for third place.

Zhang faced reigning champion Carla Esparza for the UFC Women's Strawweight Championship on November 12, 2022, at UFC 281. Zhang won the bout and regained the championship by the way of a rear-naked choke submission in the second round. This win earned her the Performance of the Night award. Zhang was promoted to brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu following her win. She defeated Lemos via unanimous decision after a dominant performance, with Zhang out striking Lemos 296–29, the largest differential for a women's fight in UFC history. The emphatic win also earned Zhang her fourth Performance of the Night award.

Zhang faced Yan Xiaonan on April 13, 2024, at UFC 300. This was the first all-China title fight. She won the bout by unanimous decision.

Zhang made her third title defense against The Ultimate Fighter: Team Joanna vs. Team Cláudia strawweight tournament winner Tatiana Suarez on February 9, 2025 at UFC 312. She won the fight by unanimous decision.

Move to Flyweight Weili vacated her strawweight title on October 25, 2025 and challenged two-time UFC Women's Flyweight Champion Valentina Shevchenko for the title on November 15, 2025 at UFC 322. She lost the fight by unanimous decision.

During UFC 326's broadcast in March 2026, Weili's 2020 fight with Jędrzejczyk was announced as the next "fight wing" UFC Hall of Fame inductee during International Fight Week festivities in Las Vegas on July 9, 2026.

Other ventures In May 2020, it was announced that Zhang became a brand ambassador for cosmetics brand Estée Lauder in China, and was chosen as a face of their new makeup line Double Wear. In the same year, she appeared in a commercial for Audi. In 2021, she was named a global ambassador for recovery technology company Hyperice. She also had endorsement deals with clothing brands Under Armour and Hailan Home, e-commerce company JingDong and alcoholic beverage company Wusu Beer.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts Ultimate Fighting Championship UFC Hall of Fame (Fight Wing, Class of 2026) vs. Joanna Jędrzejczyk 1 at UFC 248 UFC Women's Strawweight Championship (Two times, former) Second most UFC Women's Strawweight title bouts (8) First Chinese champion in UFC history First Asian champion in UFC history Fight of the Night (One time) Most significant ground strikes landed in a UFC Women's Strawweight bout (96) (vs. Amanda Lemos) Most total ground strikes landed in a UFC Women's Strawweight bout (225) (vs. Amanda Lemos) 2020: President's Choice Fight of the Year Winner 2022: President's Choice Performance of the Year Winner , Fan's Choice Knockout of the Year Nominee & Fan's Choice Submission of the Year Nominee UFC.com Awards 2018: Ranked #7 Newcomer of the Year 2019: Top 10 Fighter of the Year 2020: Fight of the Year 2022: Ranked #4 Fighter of the Year, Half-Year Awards: Best Knockout of the 1HY & Ranked #4 Knockout of the Year 2024: Ranked #9 Fight of the Year

Kunlun Fight KLF Female Strawweight Champion (One time) 2020 Female Fighter of the Year 2020 Fight of the Year vs. Joanna Jędrzejczyk at UFC 248 June 2022 Knockout of the Month vs. Joanna Jędrzejczyk at UFC 248 November 2022 Submission of the Month vs. Carla Esparza at UFC 281 2022 Female Fighter of the Year 2022 Comeback Fighter of the Year World MMA Awards 2019 – July 2020 Fight of the Year vs. Joanna Jędrzejczyk at UFC 248 2024 Female Fighter of the Year Wrestling Observer Newsletter 2020 MMA Match of the Year Women's MMA MVP (2022, 2024) The Sporting News 2022 Female Fighter of the Year MMA Fighting 2020 Fight of the Year vs. Joanna Jędrzejczyk at UFC 248 2022 First Team MMA All-Star The Athletic 2020 Fight of the Year vs. Joanna Jędrzejczyk at UFC 248 Bleacher Report 2020 Fight of the Year vs. Joanna Jędrzejczyk at UFC 248 Cageside Press 2020 Fight of the Year vs. Joanna Jędrzejczyk at UFC 248 2022 Female Fighter of the Year Sherdog 2020 Fight of the Year vs. Joanna Jędrzejczyk at UFC 248 BT Sport 2020 Fight of the Year vs. Joanna Jędrzejczyk at UFC 248 2022 Female Fighter of the Year MMA Weekly 2020 Fight of the Year vs. Joanna Jędrzejczyk at UFC 248 Combat Press 2020 Fight of the Year vs. Joanna Jędrzejczyk at UFC 248 2022 Female Fighter of the Year ESPN 2019 Female Fighter of the Year 2020 Fight of the Year 2022 Female Fighter of the Year Yahoo! Sports 2019 Female Fighter of the Year 2020 Fight of the Year 2022 Female Fighter of the Year Bloody Elbow 2019 Upset of the Year 2020 Fight of the Year CBS Sports 2020 UFC Fight of the Year MMA Sucka 2020 Fight of the Year Slacky Awards 2023 Gameplan of the Year

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Valentina Shevchenko Decision (unanimous) UFC 322

New York City, New York, United States Win

Tatiana Suarez Decision (unanimous) UFC 312

Sydney, Australia Win

Yan Xiaonan Decision (unanimous) UFC 300

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Amanda Lemos Decision (unanimous) UFC 292

Boston, Massachusetts, United States Win

Carla Esparza Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 281

New York City, New York, United States Win

Joanna Jędrzejczyk KO (spinning backfist) UFC 275

Kallang, Singapore Loss

Rose Namajunas Decision (split) UFC 268

New York City, New York, United States Loss

Rose Namajunas KO (head kick) UFC 261

Jacksonville, Florida, United States | Win

Joanna Jędrzejczyk Decision (split) UFC 248

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Jéssica Andrade TKO (knees and punches) UFC Fight Night: Andrade vs. Zhang

Shenzhen, China Win

Tecia Torres Decision (unanimous) UFC 235

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Jessica Aguilar Submission (armbar) UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Ngannou 2

Beijing, China Win

Danielle Taylor Decision (unanimous) UFC 227

Los Angeles, California, United States Win

Bianca Sattelmayer Submission (armbar) Kunlun Fight MMA 15

Seoul, South Korea Win

Marilia Santos TKO (elbows) Kunlun Fight MMA 14

Yantai, China Win

Seo Ye-dam TKO (elbow and punches) Top FC 15

Seoul, South Korea Win

Aline Sattelmayer Decision (unanimous) Kunlun Fight MMA 12

Yantai, China Win

Simone Duarte TKO (punches) Kunlun Fight MMA 11

Jining, China Win

Nayara Hemily Submission (guillotine choke) Kunlun Fight MMA 9

Sanya, China Win

Veronica Grenno TKO (knees to the body) Kunlun Fight MMA 8

Sanya, China Win

Karla Benitez KO (punch) Kunlun Fight MMA 7

Beijing, China Win

Maíra Mazar Submission (rear-naked choke) Kunlun Fight 53

Beijing, China Win

Emi Fujino TKO (doctor stoppage) Kunlun Fight 49

Tokyo, Japan Win

Liliya Kazak KO (head kick) Kunlun Fight 47

Nanjing, China Win

Alice Ardelean Submission (rear-naked choke) Kunlun Fight MMA 5

Seoul, South Korea Win

Svetlana Gotsyk TKO (punches) Kunlun Fight 38

Pattaya, Thailand Win

Samantha Jean-Francois TKO (punches) Kunlun Fight 35

Luoyang, China Win

Mei Huang Submission (rear-naked choke) CKF 10/27

Qian'an, China Win

Shuxia Wu Submission (armbar) CKF 10/14

Qian'an, China Loss

Meng Bo Decision (unanimous) China MMA League

Xuchang, China