Zhang Weili urged to fight Manon Fiorot first before Valentina Shevchenko by ex-UFC star

Off the back of her UFC 312 title fight win, Zhang Weili has been first urged to take on surging French contender, Manon Fiorot before a flyweight super fight against Valentina Shevchenko — according to former featherweight title challenger, Megan Anderson.

Weili, the current undisputed strawweight champion, turned in a dominant unanimous decision win over number one ranked challenger, Tatiana Suarez at UFC 312 over the course of the weekend, lodging her third defense of the 115lbs crown in the pair’s co-headliner.

And handing the dominant grappling talent, Suarez her first-ever professional loss, Chinese superstar, Zhang Weili was immediately linked with a flyweight title charge against undisputed queen, Shevchenko — in a long-mooted meeting of the dominant pair.

Zhang Weili urged to fight Manon Fiorot in final strawweight title outing

However, according to Australian ex-fighter, Anderson, Weili has been urged to first take on the streaking, Fiorot first — awarding her a shot at the crown before making good on a permanent move to the flyweight limit beginning with a super fight against Shevchenko.

“I definitely think Manon Fiorot shouldn’t be out of this discussion because she’s done everything that they’ve [the UFC] asked of her,” Megan Anderson told Ariel Helwani for Uncrowned during an interview this evening. “She’s deserving of the shot [against Zhang Weili].”

"I definitely think @ManonFiorot_MMA shouldn't be out of this discussion because she's done everything that they've asked of her. She's deserving of the shot.

She's pretty much been on the shelf for almost a year now, waiting for this, because she was the next in line."… pic.twitter.com/NwXs61bxja

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) February 12, 2025

Herself linked with a potential return to fighting following her surprising retirement back in 2021, former Invicta FC featherweight champion and Octagon feature, Anderson ruled out a return for the definite earlier this week.

“I have no desire to fight anymore,” Megan Anderson said. “I don’t even think I could make 145 pounds anymore — I definitely do, I miss cutting weight. Maybe do like an Influencer boxing bout or something like that down the line. Who knows, ‘cause I just started boxing again like for fun with my trainer, so maybe that — but it’s more of like a 20 per cent maybe.