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 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.
