Weili Zhang KOs Jessica Andrade In 42 Seconds To Become First Chinese UFC Champion
The longtime home and origin of martial arts finally has a world champion to celebrate.
Weili 'Magnum' Zhang is now China's very first UFC world champion, after the defending straw-weight champion, (Jessica Andrade) lasted only 42 seconds to the pressure of Zhang, whose 20th straight victory as a professional earned her immortality in both the sport of MMA and her home country.
Zhang wasted no time before advancing to the center of the Octagon and blasting her Brazilian opponent with a thunderous right hand that was set up with perfectly timed leg kicks, and followed by a hailstorm of heavy elbows and knees with her back against the cage. As the wobbly-legged Andrade tried to escape the onslaught of clinch strikes, Zhang chased her down with a flurry of well placed punches before dropping and beating her relentlessly until the referee called for the TKO stoppage.
Zhang's historic victory coincides with the UFC's expansion into the Chinese MMA market, as well the opening of one of the largest and most advanced MMA training facilities in the entire world, UFC Performance Institute Shanghai.
This victory will likely set up a title fight against former champions 'Thug' Rose Namajunes or Joanna Jedrzejczyk in the coming months.