Many mixed martial arts (MMA) fans were shocked to hear that Weili Zhang will receive the first crack at newly-crowned UFC women’s strawweight champion Jessica Andrade.
Zhang will take on Andrade from her home country of China on August 31. The 29-year-old prospect comes off a unanimous decision win over Tecia Torres, her first victory under the UFC banner over anyone of note. Speaking on the “Believe You Me” podcast, former UFC middleweight champion and future UFC Hall Of Famer Michael Bisping offered his thoughts on Zhang’s matchup with Andrade.
Bisping saw Zhang’s performance over Torres and was impressed. Although it may be a little early for a title shot, Bisping thinks Zhang has the skills to compete at the championship level (via BJPenn.com):
“Weili is 19-1, nine by knockout, seven submissions so 16 of those 19 wins are by stoppage. This woman is a stopper,” Bisping said. “She stops fights, she wins fight, knockouts, submissions. And I get it’s rare in those weight classes to be a finisher. But she does that and she’s also very good.
“As you just said, I saw the fight against Tecia Torres. I watched it, I was like ‘wow this girl is sensational. She’s amazing.’ Now she’s on a three-fight win streak [under the UFC banner]. Is that a little early for a UFC title shot? Maybe, but it’s not unheard of. It’s certainly not unheard of and of course, I’d say she has the skills to be in there.”
“The Count” then explained why he thinks Zhang might just upset Andrade when they go head-to-head:
“Weili may beat her. She’s a fantastic striker, she’s got good footwork, she’s very very capable. And she’s 3-0 in the UFC with a massive record.”
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