Strawweight champion Zhang Weili won her first UFC title in electrifying fashion, defeating Jessica Andrade in 2019. As the UFC’s first Chinese champion, Zhang then stole the show in her first title defense against Joanna Jedrzejczyk in 2020’s Fight of the Year.
But, at UFC 261, Weili’s title run came to a devastating end when she was stopped in the first round by Rose Namajunas. Seven months later, Namajunas won their rematch by split decision to hand “Magnum” just her second loss in seven years.
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Zhang quickly came to the realization that she was putting so much pressure and stress on herself to retain the title that she lost focus on the fight itself and herself as a mixed martial artist. This shifted Weili’s mindset to focus internally, helping her steer away from the distractions that were limiting her ability to perform.
“What motivates me is, I fight for legacy,” Zhang said. “I want to be a legend. So, all the difficulties and experiences, good or bad, I see it as a part of my path toward being a legend. So now I feel my mindset looks inward, not outward. I don’t focus on what’s around me, I’m more focused on myself and how I can achieve my goal.”
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Last November, Weili entered the Octagon a challenger looking to capture the strawweight title for the second time in her UFC career, but now with the weight of a world title off her shoulders.
Across from her stood Carla Esparza who was coming off a title-winning victory over Rose Namajunas, one of two fighters to defeat Zhang in her professional mixed martial arts career. One minute into the second round, Zhang stuffed a takedown and countered with a slick submission, forcing Esparza to tap.
Now a two-time strawweight champion, Zhang already knew what comes along with being a UFC title holder: more pressure, increased media obligations, constant criticism, etc. Now comfortable in the limelight, she doesn’t feel the same weight that was on her shoulders going into her two fights with Namajunas.
“When I beat Carla and became the champion again, I think I became a better version of myself, exceeding my previous [self as champion],” Weili said. “Everyone in life, there are so many things we need to overcome every single day. We need to be disciplined. I think the win made me feel satisfied that I became a better version of myself.
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“The first time I became UFC champion it was so exciting, but what came to me with the honor was the pressure, a burden on my shoulder. Now I know that pressure and burden is given by myself, so now when I experience success, failure, then success again, the biggest challenge is from yourself. I feel more peace with everything right now.”
During her time away from training camp, Weili continues living a stress-free lifestyle in Thailand. Zhang cites Thailand’s beautiful weather, food and massages as the key reasons she lives there when she doesn’t have a fight booked. Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski expressed a similar opinion of Thailand in 2022, saying that it feels like he’s training in paradise and on vacation.
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“The massages in Thailand are great,” Zhang joked. “It’s a perfect place for training out of camp. You can be very relaxed and enjoy the whole environment of Thailand.”
Eventually, the UFC reaches out to discuss potential opponents and dates to compete. Once those are set in stone, Zhang packs up her bags and flies to Las Vegas where she’ll finish out the last month or two of her training camp at the UFC Performance Institute.
“When you get into camp, especially the last couple weeks or month before the fight, Vegas is the best place because the UFC PI is there. The team gives you massive support in everything: nutrition, strength and conditioning. There are also a lot of fighters from all around the world, all around the country training at the PI, so you can have all the resources to support you.”
Another feature of the UFC PI is its full-sized Octagon. While many fighters will use it to gain comfortability moving and grappling on the UFC canvas, Zhang uses the Octagon to simulate her entire fight night sequence.
As seen on UFC 292 Embedded Episode 1, Zhang will do her entire pre-fight routine, including her warm-up and walkout to the same song that’ll be playing on fight night.
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“I think the fight is like playing a game or giving a show, so you need to be familiar with all the elements of the fight,” Weili said. “When you get more familiar with that, you won’t get nervous about all those things on fight night.”
On Saturday, August 19, Weili will make her first real walk to the Octagon since becoming the UFC strawweight champion last fall. Waiting for her inside the cage will be Amanda Lemos, a hard-hitting Brazilian currently sitting at No. 5 in the strawweight rankings.
Having finished 11 of her 13 wins by finish, eight knockouts and three submissions, Lemos’ finishing ability is unlike any opponent Zhang has fought in her entire professional career.
“I’ve never fought an opponent like Lemos’ style,” Weili said. “She’s a heavy hitter, heavy kicker and she also has good timing on counter attacks, so she’s very dangerous. She’s very different than Joanna [Jedrzejczyk] or Carla. I need to be very cautious because I cannot [afford to] make any mistakes.”
UFC 292: Sterling vs O'Malley took place live from TD Garden in Boston on August 19, 2023. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
