By: Pankti Parmar Image credit: Twitter
Weili Zhang won millions of hearts when she won the UFC Strawweight championship by defeating Jessica Andrade in her hometown, China. Since then, she has proven herself to be an exceptional fighter.
Here are the top 5 unknown facts about Weili Zhang that might surprise as well as shock many. The Strawweight champion has her own inspiring story to tell.
Weili Zhang became the first Chinese fighter to ever become a UFC champion when she lifted the UFC women's Strawweight championship, which includes both men's and women's divisions.
Ronda Rousey is an inspiration for many upcoming female UFC debutants. Zhang has a similar story where she wanted to break the stereotype of Chinese women being weak, and her inspiration was Rousey.
When Zhang started training, she had to go to a town called Sanda to train, and she even had to train against men, who were punished if they held back from fighting just because she was a female.
Zhang made her UFC debut at UFC 227, which took place in Los Angeles, California. She had to go into the ring alone, without her trainer in the corner, as he had been denied a visa multiple times.
In her life outside the Octagon, Zhang reports being a huge fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Among all the superheroes in MCU, Zhang's favorite is reportedly Spider-Man.
Along with being the torchbearer for Chinese fighters in UFC, Weili Zhang has so much more in her story that serves as an inspiration for all the young women aspiring to pursue MMA.
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