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Ronda Rousey has praised Weili Zhang for her sensational UFC debut in Shenzhen.
There were certainly no Octagon jitters on display in Weili Zhang’s UFC debut on Saturday, as it took just 42 seconds for the 30-year-old to KO Jessica Andrade to capture the women’s strawweight title and become the first Chinese champion in the promotion’s history.
From one [former] champ to another, ex-bantamweight queen Ronda Rousey congratulated Zhang on her historic title win, which is a pretty big deal considering ‘Rowdy’ rarely talks MMA these days.
“The future is bright – amazing performanceCongrats champ! @zhangweilimma,” Rousey posted on Instagram yesterday.
Rousey, 32, retired from the UFC after suffering back-to-back knockout losses to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes in 2015/2016. The women’s MMA pioneer then made the transition to professional wrestling, when she signed with WWE in 2017 and soon became Raw women’s champion.
Zhang, who boasts a professional record of 20-1, will likely defend her newly-acquired strawweight title in the new year.