UFC Strawweight Champion Zhang Weili discusses potential opponents for her first title defense
After successfully reclaiming her women's strawweight title, Zhang Weili has discussed who could be next and what she expects from her first defense this time around.
'Magnum' started her first reign when she captured the throne during a UFC Fight Night in her home country of China back in 2019. The power striker dethroned the then-newly crowned champion, Jessica Andrade, after delivering a barrage of vicious knees and punches before the ref stepped in to stop the action.
While in a recent interview, Zhang Weili insisted that no matter who is next, she wants excitement in her first strawweight title defense and believes the UFC shares her thoughts.
"Me now, I'm a champion. Everybody wants to fight me... I think the UFC wants an awesome fight, so I don't know who [is next], [but] with me, it's a good fight."
In the co-main event of UFC 281, Weili made the walk to the octagon to attempt to recapture the title she lost a year prior. In her way stood Carla Esparza, a grapple-heavy competitor whose main route to victory is implementing a wrestling gameplan and overwhelming her opponents.
Although she tried to execute her style throughout the fight, the BJJ Brown Belt was unable to outwork the Asian powerhouse. The 33-year-old looked sharp on the feet and arguably got the better of the grappling exchanges, ultimately leading to her rear-naked choke submission victory.
The win extended her run in the octagon to two following her knockout of the year contender spinning backfist during her highly-anticipated rematch against Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
Check out what Zhang Weili had to say about her next title defense in the video below.
Who can reasonably face Zhang Weili next?
Her title win on November 12 means Zhang Weili now has a target on her back with a handful of hungry women's strawweight competitors all waiting for their chance to fight for gold.
After her controversial loss last time out, a trilogy bout against Rose Namajunas, a woman who has beaten her on two separate occasions, could be a viable option for the Chinese woman.
Amanda Lemos has been on the rise throughout the division and looks like a real title contender in the 115lb division. In her last outing, the Brazilian scored a TKO victory over Marina Rodriguez, improving her to 7-1 in the past 8 fights.