China has it’s newest mixed martial arts world champion, her name is Weili Zhang (张伟丽). Born in Handan, Hebei, China, Zhang, 21W 1L, competes, and is the current strawweight champion, in what’s considered the toughest most popular MMA promotion in the world, the UFC. Zhang has been in the UFC since 2018, before that she was the MMA strawweight champion for KLF (Kunlin Fight), one of the top kickboxing promotions in the world, which also showcased MMA competitions. Zhang made her mixed martial arts debut in 2013, in which she lost the match by unanimous decision, however since then she has gone on an undefeated 21 fight win streak, with 10 of those wins by knockout, and 7 submissions. Zhang started her martial arts training as a young child learning Shaolin Kung Fu, which is regarded as the best Kung Fu school in the world. Shaolin Kung Fu is also considered to be the origins of the art of fighting which influenced all the martial arts around the world to be what they are today. Many of the famous Kung fu films depict Shaolin Kung Fu as always being the superior style which is needed to overcome it’s oppressors. These same kung fu films, are what’s said to have inspired a young Zhang to start her Shaolin Kung Fu journey. Bruce Lee’s Fist of Fury is what inspired me to go on my kung fu journey, and somehow became the movie soundtrack to my life. By the time she was 12, Weili Zhang went on to learn Sanda, which is the official Chinese full contact combat sport developed by the military. Sanda is also known as Chinese Boxing where most of the studies and practice come from traditional kung fu. Zhang has been a kung fu kid most her life; she also learned Shuai Jiao, which is a Chinese form of wrestling also known as kung fu wrestling. She learned Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu after becoming a fitness instructor at a gym where people practiced BJJ, and now currently holds a purple belt under Pedro Jordão. Zhang is a complete fighter that is dangerous anywhere the fight goes. She is currently #2 on the UFC women’s pound-for- pound rankings, and became a UFC Champion within about a year since her debut with the organization. In her last fight which took place on March 7, 2020 at UFC 248, she defended the UFC Strawweight Championship against the former queen of the division, Joanna Jędrzejczyk. The fight will go down as one of the best fights in MMA history, as the two competitors were evenly matched in a back and forth war which ended in a split decision. Since her last victory, Zhang has been on her social media revisiting her martial arts roots and training with a kung fu master. There have been several posts showcasing masterful techniques such as Baji Quan, and another post in particular which displays a kung fu master breaking a bottle with a 6-inch punch. Real kung fu in it’s purest forms is what we can expect from the newest UFC Strawweight Champion. It appears she is here to stay; her name is Weili Zhang, and she is from China.
MMA Frequency 