Zhang Weili (born August 13, 1989) is a Chinese professional mixed martial artist.
She currently competes in the women's Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she is the current and two-time UFC Women's Strawweight Champion.
2010
In 2010 she found a job at a local Beijing gym as a fitness instructor, and was allowed to use their equipment for free after the gym closed in the evenings.
During that time she would also pick up Brazilian jiu-jitsu, after watching others grappling there.
She later switched to a front desk job, through which she got to know fighters who trained at the gym, one of them being her idol Wu Haotian, a pioneer of Chinese MMA.
2012
After they became acquainted in 2012, Haotian brought her to Black Tiger Fight Club.
There, she was noticed by coach Cai Xuejun, who recognized her potential and started training her in MMA.
2013
A professional competitor since 2013, Zhang formerly competed for Kunlun Fight (KLF), where she was the KLF Women's Strawweight Champion.
As of September 5, 2023, she is #2 in the UFC women's pound-for-pound rankings.
Zhang was born in Handan, Hebei, China.
Her father is a retired miner, and her mother is a housewife.
She has one older brother, who quit his job as a gold trader to support Zhang's career, and now works at the gym where she trains.
She started training in martial arts at a young age, beginning
at 6 with Shaolin Kung Fu under the tutelage of a local master, after she was inspired by Kung Fu films.
In primary school, she practiced many sports including athletics, football and table tennis.
When she was 12, her parents sent her to a specialized martial arts school in Handan where she began training in Sanda and a Chinese style of wrestling called Shuai jiao.
After winning Sanda championships of the Hebei province multiple times, she was selected for the Jiangsu province Sanda team, however a recurring back injury sustained in training forced her to quit the sport early.
At the age of 17 she moved to Beijing, where she worked various odd jobs: cashier at a supermarket, kindergarten teacher, security guard and hotel desk clerk.
She also credited Ronda Rousey, and particularly her fight with Liz Carmouche in 2013, as giving her the motivation to quit her job and pursue MMA full-time.
Zhang made her professional MMA debut in 2013.
2017
After losing her professional debut to Meng Bo by unanimous decision, she would go on to win 11 straight fights before challenging Simone Duarte for the Kunlun Fight Female Strawweight Championship on May 25, 2017, at Kunlun Fight MMA 11.
She won the fight via TKO in the second round.
Zhang made her first title defense against Aline Sattelmayer on June 1, 2017, at Kunlun Fight MMA 12.
She won the fight by unanimous decision.
On July 22, 2017, Zhang attempted to win a second title, when she challenged Seo Ye-dam (서예담) for the vacant Top FC Strawweight Championship at TOP FC 15.
She won the fight via TKO in the second round to capture the title.
In her next bout, Zhang made her second KLF title defense on August 28, 2017, at Kunlun Fight MMA 14 against Marilia Santos.
She won the fight via TKO in the second round.
Zhang would fight one more time for KLF, amassing a record of 16–1 and improving her winning streak to 16 before signing with the UFC.
2018
Zhang made her promotion debut on August 4, 2018, at UFC 227 against Danielle Taylor.
She won the fight via unanimous decision.
On November 24, 2018, Zhang faced Jessica Aguilar at UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Ngannou 2.
She won the fight via a submission in round one.
2019
In a Chinese television show in December 2019, she mentioned that Hong Kong Action Superstar Donnie Yen was her inspiration to compete in MMA, and that Donnie Yen's 2007 feature film Flashpoint was her first introduction to the sport of MMA.
Zhang faced Tecia Torres on March 3, 2019, at UFC 235.
She won the fight via unanimous decision.
Zhang faced Jéssica Andrade for the UFC Women's Strawweight Championship on August 31, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 157.
She won the fight via first-round technical knockout to become the new strawweight champion, and the first UFC champion from China.
The win also earned Zhang her first Performance of the Night bonus award.
2020
In the first defense of her title, Zhang faced former strawweight champion Joanna Jędrzejczyk on March 7, 2020, at UFC 248.
