Photo by Zhe Ji/Getty Images
Renowned MMA trainer Duke Roufus will be helping Weili Zhang train for her maiden title defense against Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
Last August, strawweight contender Weili Zhang defeated Jessica Andrade via first-round TKO to become China’s first UFC champion. On March 7th at UFC 248, she will defend her title for the first time against former 115-pound champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
Zhang will move her training camp to the United States for this upcoming fight. Specifically, she will go under the tutelage of renowned trainer Duke Roufus in Milwaukee.
Roufus made the announcement via Instagram on Tuesday, where he also thanked presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard for helping Weili obtain a U.S. visa.
Martial Arts makes the World a better place & a smaller planet. I am excited to announce I will be assisting the @ufc Straw Weight Champion @zhangweilimma & her team for her Title Defense vs legendary Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk March 7 in Las Vegas.
Thanks Coach @cai8005457 & the great people from China for the friendship. Weili will finish her training at @roufusport with her whole team to acclimate to the USA. Special thanks to our friend @tulsigabbard for helping Weili obtain her Visa to the USA.
Thank you very much @suckerpunchent for creating this wonderful friendship & collaboration “The Shaolin & Rou-Tang Could be Dangerous”
@wutangclan #martialarts is #life #weilizhang #zhangweili #tulsigabbard #usa #china #chinese #mma #chinesemma #sanda #kungfu #gungfu #wushu #ufc #ufc248 @roufusport #roufusportmma #roufusport #routangclan #positivevibes
The 30-year-old Zhang has so far compiled a record of 4-0 since she signed with the UFC in 2018. She holds a win-loss slate of 20-1 (with 17 wins by stoppage).