Zhang Weili Record, stats and next fight

Background

Born in Handan, in Hebei Province, Zhang started out in sanda, Chinese kickboxing with throws, before turning to mixed martial arts. She worked for a time as a receptionist and gym coach before she could make a living from competing, a path she has often brought up at press conferences.

A professional since 2013, she lost her first fight and then put together twenty-one straight wins in China and South Korea, including the Kunlun Fight and Top FC strawweight titles. She trains at Black Tiger Fight Club in Beijing with Cai Xuejun, and rounds out her preparation in the United States and Thailand.

UFC Career

After arriving in the UFC in 2018, she won three straight fights before facing Jessica Andrade in Shenzhen on August 31, 2019. She stopped the Brazilian in 42 seconds to become the strawweight champion. Her first defense, against Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 248 in March 2020, remains one of the most talked-about women’s fights in the organization.

She then lost twice to Rose Namajunas, by head kick KO at UFC 261 and then by decision at UFC 268. She returned in November 2022 at UFC 281 and submitted Carla Esparza with a rear-naked choke to reclaim the belt.

She then reeled off three successful defenses: Amanda Lemos at UFC 292, Yan Xiaonan at UFC 300 and Tatiana Suarez at UFC 312 in February 2025. She vacated the title on October 25, 2025, then moved up to flyweight on November 15, 2025, at UFC 322, where she lost by decision to Valentina Shevchenko after five rounds. It was her first loss since November 2021.

Her win over Joanna Jedrzejczyk came by split decision after five rounds and earned Fight of the Night. Before that period, Zhang had strung together twenty-one straight wins since her lone loss as a newcomer in 2013, a streak that includes her Kunlun Fight and Top FC titles as well as her first three UFC appearances.

Fighting Style

Zhang combines sanda-based striking with a wrestling game that has become one of her strengths. She moves forward chaining hooks and roundhouse kicks, looks for the clinch and knows how to turn a takedown into control on the mat.

Her ground game has improved markedly since her first reign: the rear-naked choke on Carla Esparza in 2022 and her management of the fight against Tatiana Suarez, the division’s benchmark wrestler, are the two markers of that growth. Eleven of her twenty-six wins came by KO or TKO and eight by submission, a rare breakdown at strawweight, where the decision remains the most common outcome.