Tag: Zhang Weili

Zhang Weili Back in Training Just Days After UFC 312 Victory Over Tatiana Suarez

Zhang Weili Back in Training Just Days After UFC 312 Victory Over Tatiana SuarezZhang Weili is wasting no time in preparing for her next challenge. Just five days after successfully defending her…

Zhang Weili Back in Training Just Days After UFC 312 Victory Over Tatiana Suarez

Zhang Weili is wasting no time in preparing for her next challenge. Just five days after successfully defending her UFC Strawweight Championship at UFC 312, she hit the gym in Sydney, Australia.

Zhang Weili Already in The Gym

At UFC 312, held on February 9, 2025, in Sydney, Australia, Zhang Weili delivered a dominant performance against previously undefeated Tatiana Suarez. Despite entering the fight as a betting underdog, Zhang outclassed Suarez with superior striking and grappling, earning a unanimous decision victory with scores of 49-46 and 49-45. This marked her third consecutive title defense and is building her legacy as one of the greatest strawweight fighters in MMA history.

Known for her discipline and game planning, Zhang’s swift return to training shows her ambition to continue improving. There is speculation that she may be preparing for a potential super fight against flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko, a matchup that UFC President Dana White has hinted at as a possibility. Zhang herself has expressed interest in moving up a weight class to challenge for a second title, further cementing her status as one of the sport’s all-time greats.

Zhang Weili is widely regarded as one of the hardest workers in MMA, with an intense training regimen and a highly intelligent team surrounding her. Known for her meticulous preparation, Zhang and her team dedicate countless hours to studying opponents, crafting detailed game plans, and refining every aspect of her skill set.

Zhang’s dedication to her craft, to bounce back into training so quickly after a grueling five-round fight exemplifies why she remains at the pinnacle of women’s MMA. Fans and analysts alike are eager to see what challenges she will take on next as she continues to build her remarkable legacy.

Zhang Weili Reveals Condition UFC Has Laid Down For Potential Two-Division Title Challenge

Should UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Zhang Weili commit to a pursuit of more glory, she’ll have a big decision to make. Zhang further enhanced her legacy at this past weekend’s pay-per-view in Sydney, Australia, where she co-headlined UFC 312 in defense of her title against undefeated challenger Tatiana Suarez. The Chinese standout delivered one of […]

Should UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Zhang Weili commit to a pursuit of more glory, she’ll have a big decision to make.

Zhang further enhanced her legacy at this past weekend’s pay-per-view in Sydney, Australia, where she co-headlined UFC 312 in defense of her title against undefeated challenger Tatiana Suarez.

The Chinese standout delivered one of the performances of her career to dominantly outpoint Suarez across five rounds, recording the third successful defense of her second title reign in the process.

Having established her superiority at 115 pounds, Zhang’s ambitions have begun to spread beyond that divisional realm and to the flyweight division, currently ruled by Valentina Shevchenko.

During an appearance on Monday’s episode of The Ariel Helwani Show on Uncrowned, “Magnum” further addressed that possibility, revealing the UFC’s stance on the matter.

“I always wanted to go up one weight class, but it’s never good timing,” Zhang said. “For very quite a long time, I was a little bit confused, like, ‘OK, who should I fight? Because they all have their own arrangements and matches. But eventually it will work out with UFC because I really want to get a fight.’

“There’s no concrete plan or ask from our side just yet. I’m willing to fight Valentina, but again, timing has to be right. Everything has to play in our favor, then it could happen,” Zhang continued. “Anything works. If we ended up in the flyweight (division), then I don’t have to go through so much pain to cut weight. Why not? … UFC kind of wants me to, if I actually go up to 125 (pounds), just kind of stay in there — don’t move (back down) again. But that’s something I need to consider myself.”

Should Zhang choose against a permanent switch to 125 pounds and continue to defend the gold currently in her possession, it remains to be seen who will get the next shot.

It could well be a rematch lying in wait for “Magnum.” While Virna Jandiroba is deemed by many to have already earned an opportunity, she’ll first need to get past Yan Xiaonan at UFC 314 this coming April.

VIDEO: UFC 312 Post-Fight Press Conference After Dricus Du Plessis, Zhang Weili’s Headline Wins

The UFC 312 pay-per-view recently concluded, and MMA News has you covered with the post-fight press conference in Sydney. The Qudos Bank Arena played host to Octagon action on tonight, as the mixed martial arts leader continued its PPV schedule for 2025 with a lineup that featured two championships and a host of local names. […]

The UFC 312 pay-per-view recently concluded, and MMA News has you covered with the post-fight press conference in Sydney.

The Qudos Bank Arena played host to Octagon action on tonight, as the mixed martial arts leader continued its PPV schedule for 2025 with a lineup that featured two championships and a host of local names.

Of note were victories for Dricus Du Plessis, Zhang Weili, Jake Matthews and Tallison Teixeira.

And before attention turns to UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Rodrigues at the Apex next weekend, there remains some business to attend to backstage at UFC 312.

Shortly after the main event’s ending, Dana White will appear in front of the media to reveal the recipients of the Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night bonuses before answering questions. The victorious fighters from UFC 312 will also take queries from the press in reaction to their performances.

With that said, see below for a live stream of the UFC 312 post-fight press conference via the UFC’s official YouTube channel, commencing at 1:15 AM ET.

Zhang Weili Dominates Tatiana Suarez, Defends Title With Five-Round Masterclass At UFC 312

Despite coming into the bout as the betting underdog for the first time as a champion, Zhang Weili was able to dominate Tatiana Suarez in a five-round decision to end the challenger’s undefeated streak and retain the UFC women’s strawweight title in the UFC 312 co-main event. Suarez easily took control of the fight in […]

Despite coming into the bout as the betting underdog for the first time as a champion, Zhang Weili was able to dominate Tatiana Suarez in a five-round decision to end the challenger’s undefeated streak and retain the UFC women’s strawweight title in the UFC 312 co-main event.

Suarez easily took control of the fight in the opening minute, scoring a takedown. The American did not land shots but remained on top without much trouble. Suarez even looked for a guillotine, but she was unable to complete the choke.

Zhang was more than ready entering round two, however. She prevented a takedown and managed to drop right into mount. With the two practically against the fence in one way or another for quite a bit of the round, the defending champion landed plenty of shots from top control.

“Magnum” scored a couple of noteworthy strikes in the third round, including a right hand that clearly rocked Suarez. The champ continued to stop the takedown attempts from the challenger, displaying complete control of the action.

Zhang Weili Retains Strawweight Title, Hands Tatiana Suarez First Loss

“Magnum” continued this pace over the course of the next two rounds, stopping any attempts from Suarez to get back into the fight and dominating more in top control.

The judges ultimately scored the bout in the champ’s favor, with two 49-46s and a 49-45.

Zhang has now won five straight, including successful defenses against Amanda Lemos and Yan Xiaonan in her second reign as UFC strawweight champion. She now ties Joanna Jedrzejczyk with six successful defenses of the 115-pound title.

With her dominant victory tonight, some now wonder if “Magnum” will be booked for a superfight against flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko in the near future.

Meanwhile, this was Suarez’s first fight since her August 2023 win over Jessica Andrade.

UFC 312: Dricus Du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland 2 Results & Highlights (6PM ET) 

UFC 312 takes place tonight from the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia and MMA News has you covered with all the results and highlights!  In the main event, Dricus Du Plessis will put his middleweight title on the line in a rematch with former champ Sean Strickland. While in the co-main event, strawweight champ Zhang Weili will face Tatiana […]

UFC 312 takes place tonight from the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia and MMA News has you covered with all the results and highlights! 

In the main event, Dricus Du Plessis will put his middleweight title on the line in a rematch with former champ Sean Strickland. While in the co-main event, strawweight champ Zhang Weili will face Tatiana Suarez. 

Elsewhere on the main card, Justin Tafa will face Tallison Teixeira at heavyweight; Jimmy Crute and Rodolfo Bellato will clash at light heavyweight; and Jake Matthews will face Francisco Prado in a welterweight matchup. 

There was one fight cancelation at the weigh-ins, with the flyweight bout between Nyamjargal Tumendemberel and HyunSung Park scrapped due to weight management issues experienced by the former.  

Make sure to catch all the UFC 312 results and highlights as they happen below! 

Main Card: 10PM ET On PPV 

  • Middleweight Championship: Dricus Du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland 
  • Women’s Strawweight Championship: Zhang Weili vs. Tatiana Suarez 
  • Heavyweight: Justin Tafa vs. Tallison Teixeira 
  • Light Heavyweight: Jimmy Crute vs. Rodolfo Bellato 
  • Welterweight: Jake Matthews vs. Francisco Prado 

 
Preliminary Card: 8PM ET On (ESPNews/Disney+) 

  • Featherweight: Jack Jenkins vs. Gabriel Santos 
  • Lightweight: Tom Nolan vs. Viacheslav Borshchev 
  • Women’s Flyweight: Wang Cong vs. Bruna Brasil 
  • Bantamweight: Colby Thicknesse vs. Aleksandre Topuria 

Early Preliminary Card: 6PM ET On ESPN+ 

  • Lightweight: Rongzhu vs. Kody Steele 
  • Welterweight: Kevin Jousset vs. Jonathan Micallef 
  • Lightweight: Quillan Salkilld vs. Anshul Jubli 

UFC 312 Results & Highlights: Dricus Du Plessis Decisions Sean Strickland

UFC 312 took place tonight from the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia and MMA News has you covered with all the results and highlights!  In the main event, Dricus Du Plessis put his middleweight title on the line in a rematch with former champ Sean Strickland. While in the co-main event, strawweight champ Zhang Weili faced Tatiana Suarez.  UFC […]

UFC 312 took place tonight from the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia and MMA News has you covered with all the results and highlights! 

In the main event, Dricus Du Plessis put his middleweight title on the line in a rematch with former champ Sean Strickland. While in the co-main event, strawweight champ Zhang Weili faced Tatiana Suarez. 

UFC 312 Results: Main Card

  • Middleweight Championship: Dricus Du Plessis def. Sean Strickland via unanimous decision (50-45×2, 49-46)
  • Women’s Strawweight Championship: Zhang Weili vs. Tatiana Suarez via unanimous decision (49-46×2, 49-45)
  • Heavyweight: Tallison Teixeira def. Justin Tafa via TKO: R1, 0.35
  • Light Heavyweight: Jimmy Crute vs. Rodolfo Bellato ends in a majority draw (29-27, 28-28×2)
  • Welterweight: Jake Matthews def. Francisco Prado via unanimous decision (30-27×3)

 
Preliminary Card

  • Featherweight: Gabriel Santos def. Jack Jenkins via submission: R3, 2.06
  • Lightweight: Tom Nolan def. Viacheslav Borshchev via unanimous decision (29-28×2, 30-27)
  • Women’s Flyweight: Wang Cong def. Bruna Brasil via unanimous decision (30-27×3)
  • Bantamweight: Aleksandre Topuria def. Colby Thicknesse via unanimous decision (30-27×3)

Early Preliminary Card

  • Lightweight: Rongzhu def. Kody Steele via unanimous decision (30-27×3)
  • Welterweight: Jonathan Micallef def. Kevin Jousset via unanimous decision (29-28×3)
  • Lightweight: Quillan Salkilld def. Anshul Jubli via TKO: R1, 0.19 

Preliminary Card Highlights

Quillan Salkilld def. Anshul Jubli

Quillan Salkilld took just 19 seconds to TKO Anshul Jubli in their lightweight bout.

Gabriel Santos def. Jack Jenkins

In this featherweight bout, Gabriel Santos submitted Jack Jenkins in the third round.

Main Card Highlights

Jake Matthews def. Francisco Prado

In the main card opener, Jake Matthews earned a unanimous decision against Francisco Prado.

Jimmy Crute vs. Rodolfo Bellato ends in majority draw

Tallison Teixeira def. Justin Tafa

Tallison Teixeira took just 35 seconds to TKO Justin Tafa in their heavyweight bout.

Zhang Weili vs. Tatiana Suarez

In the co-main event, Zhang Weili defended her strawweight title with a decision win against Tatiana Suarez.

Dricus Du Plessis def. Sean Strickland

In the main event, Dricus Du Plessis retained his middleweight title with a unanimous decision against Sean Strickland.