Tag: Weili Zhang

Dana White Explains Why Weili Zhang Received Title Shot Against Jessica Andrade

Earlier this week, the UFC held a press conference in China to announce the Jessica Andrade vs. Weili Zhang title fight. Many find it surprising that Zhang was granted the title opportunity, as she’s only the No. 6-ranked strawweight in the UFC. UFC President Dana White’s explanation was simple, Zhang was the only fighter available […]

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Earlier this week, the UFC held a press conference in China to announce the Jessica Andrade vs. Weili Zhang title fight.

Many find it surprising that Zhang was granted the title opportunity, as she’s only the No. 6-ranked strawweight in the UFC. UFC President Dana White’s explanation was simple, Zhang was the only fighter available (via MMA Fighting):

“When this fight was made, this is the fight people actually want to see,” White said. “[Weili Zhang] is on a 19-fight win streak, [Jessica Andrade] just won impressively for the championship. If you look at the way this went down, Rose [Namajunas], we offered the fight to Rose, the rematch, Rose wasn’t ready she couldn’t take the fight. Tatiana [Suarez] would have been next in line.

“Tatiana hurt her neck training for the last fight, she’s out. Nina [Ansaroff], she’s ranked No. 3, she just lost. Then you’ve got Joanna [Jedrzejczyk], Joanna is taking time off right now, she’s not going to fight until the fall. Then you’ve got Claudia [Gadelha], who’s ranked No. 5. Claudia Gadelha has a fight coming up right now with Randa Markos.”

The whole situation worked out perfectly. Zhang was available just as the UFC was preparing to burst into China with a brand new Performance Institute. It wasn’t planned, it was simply a matter of right place and right time:

“No. 6 [is Weili Zhang], she’s the next in line,” White said. “Does it fall into place with the opening of the [Performance Institute] and all the things that are going on, yep it does but it was fate. Right fight, right place, right time, this was the fight to make.”

White added that the Las Vegas-based promotion has had trouble finding Zhang willing opponents. When Andrade welcomed a title defense against the Chinese prospect in front of her native crowd, the UFC boss was stunned:

“Nobody wants to fight her,” White said. “So we offer all these people the fight with her, she keeps saying ‘when do I get to fight?’ and nobody wants to fight her. So I just told you how the whole thing plays out.

“We call [Andrade], she says ‘I’ll absolutely fight her in China’. I got goosebumps telling you that story, that’s how bad ass this fight is. Both of these women, they’re amazing.”

The post Dana White Explains Why Weili Zhang Received Title Shot Against Jessica Andrade appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Dana White: ‘Bada**’ Andrade vs. Zhang Fight Was Fate

The UFC’s decision to book strawweight champion Jessica Andrade vs. lesser-known contender Weili Zhang was recently met with fan backlash. Most thought the newly-crowned Brazilian champ would rematch former champ Rose Namajunas first. While &#821…

The UFC’s decision to book strawweight champion Jessica Andrade vs. lesser-known contender Weili Zhang was recently met with fan backlash. Most thought the newly-crowned Brazilian champ would rematch former champ Rose Namajunas first. While ‘Bate Estaca’ ultimately knocked ‘Thug Rose’ out with a vicious slam at May’s UFC 237, the new champ was getting picked […]

The post Dana White: ‘Bada**’ Andrade vs. Zhang Fight Was Fate appeared first on MMA News.

Jessica Andrade Faces Off With Challenger Weili Zhang In Shanghai (Photo)

Last week, news broke that UFC women’s strawweight champion Jessica Andrade would make her first title defense against lesser-known contender Weili Zhang in China. The announcement was met with surprise from some and doubt from others. Many belie…

Last week, news broke that UFC women’s strawweight champion Jessica Andrade would make her first title defense against lesser-known contender Weili Zhang in China. The announcement was met with surprise from some and doubt from others. Many believed former champ Rose Namajunas was deserving of an immediate rematch. She was indeed defeating Andrade in the […]

The post Jessica Andrade Faces Off With Challenger Weili Zhang In Shanghai (Photo) appeared first on MMA News.

Photo: Jessica Andrade Stares Down Weili Zhang In China

Jessica Andrade’s first UFC women’s strawweight title defense is set. It may come as a bit of a surprise, but Weili Zhang will be the first woman to challenge the Brazilian’s reign. Zhang is the No. 6-ranked fighter at 115 pounds at the moment. Many believed the likes of Tatiana Suarez and Michelle Waterson were […]

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Jessica Andrade’s first UFC women’s strawweight title defense is set.

It may come as a bit of a surprise, but Weili Zhang will be the first woman to challenge the Brazilian’s reign. Zhang is the No. 6-ranked fighter at 115 pounds at the moment. Many believed the likes of Tatiana Suarez and Michelle Waterson were more deserving of the bout.

However, the promotion couldn’t miss out on an opportunity to have a Chinese fighter headline in their upcoming Shanghai card. Especially with a title on the line. Earlier today (Thurs. June 20, 2019), UFC President Dana White shared the first staredown the two women had in China recently.

Check it out here:

Andrade has been on a tear as of late. She’s on a four-fight win streak, the latter of which resulted in her title victory over Rose Namajunas. Andrade slammed Namajunas into the mat with a takedown. The slam actually knocked her out. Now, she is prepared to make her first title defense against the undefeated Zhang.

Zhang is undefeated under the UFC banner, taking out all three of her UFC opponents thus far. She has proven to be a handful when she gets on top of her adversaries on the ground. However, this will be the first true test of Zhang’s career, and in a title bout no less. UFC on ESPN+ 15 goes down from the Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre Arena in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China on August 31.

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Tecia Torres’ Return Among Seven Fights Scheduled For UFC Uruguay

The UFC’s debut in Uruguay this August just added its first official fights to the lineup. UFC Brazil revealed today that seven bouts were officially announced for the event scheduled for August 10. The card will go down from the Antel Arena in M…

The UFC’s debut in Uruguay this August just added its first official fights to the lineup. UFC Brazil revealed today that seven bouts were officially announced for the event scheduled for August 10. The card will go down from the Antel Arena in Montevideo, Uruguay and will air on ESPN+. The most high-profile among them […]

The post Tecia Torres’ Return Among Seven Fights Scheduled For UFC Uruguay appeared first on MMA News.

Jessica Andrade vs. Weili Zhang Early Betting Odds

The opening betting odds for Jessica Andrade vs. Weili Zhang at the upcoming UFC on ESPN+ 15 event have been released. This fantastic bout was recently announced by the Las Vegas-based promotion. The opening betting odds were revealed via BestFightOdds on Wednesday. Andrade is a -200 favorite to successfully retain her UFC women’s strawweight title […]

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The opening betting odds for Jessica Andrade vs. Weili Zhang at the upcoming UFC on ESPN+ 15 event have been released. This fantastic bout was recently announced by the Las Vegas-based promotion.

The opening betting odds were revealed via BestFightOdds on Wednesday. Andrade is a -200 favorite to successfully retain her UFC women’s strawweight title against Zhang, who is a +170 underdog.

Jessica Andrade vs. Weili Zhang Background

Andrade (20-6) is riding a four-fight win streak with victories over Claudia Gadelha, Tecia Torres and Karolina Kowalkiewicz. In her latest fight, Andrade had a memorable night when she KO’d Rose Namajunas by a slam in the second round to win the UFC women’s strawweight title. This served as the main event of the UFC 237 pay-per-view (PPV) event that took place on May 11, 2019, at Arena da Baixada in Curitiba, Brazil.

Jessica Andrade vs. Weili Zhang

On the flip side, Zhang (19-1) is 3-0 under the UFC banner. She holds wins over Danielle Taylor and Jessica Aguilar. In her latest fight, she beat Tecia Torres by decision at the UFC 235 PPV event on March 2, 2019 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

UFC China (also known as UFC on ESPN+ 15) is set to take place on Saturday, August 31, 2019, at the Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. The main card will air on ESPN+. The preliminary card will air on ESPN+ as well.

A flyweight bout between Luana Carolina and Yanan Wu is expected to take place at the event. Their first fight was scheduled to take place at UFC 237. However, Wu pulled out of the bout due to injury and she was replaced by Priscila Cachoeira.

The promotion will be announcing more bouts in the coming weeks, so stay tuned to LowKickMMA for the latest fight announcements.

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