'Remember me!' Zhang stuns Andrade at UFC Shenzhen to become first-ever Chinese champion
Zhang 'Magnum' Weili stunned women’s strawweight champion Jessica Andrade in the first round of their main event bout at UFC Shenzhen to become the promotion’s first-ever Chinese world champion.
Zhang rocked Brazilian Andrade early in the fight and finished the job with a barrage of knees and punches, forcing an end just 42 seconds into the bout.
It is Zhang’s 20th straight win and fourth since joining the UFC in 2018, while it ended Andrade’s reign as strawweight champ at the first time of asking.
After her TKO win Zhang, 30, told the crowd to "remember me," celebrating wildly as a new Asian mixed martial arts superstar was born.
It took less than a minute for Zhang Weili to make history and become China's first UFC champion #UFCShenzhenpic.twitter.com/q9d8wZ2z8z
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 31, 2019
Remember the name! 🇨🇳Weili Zhang has just made history at #UFCShenzhen! pic.twitter.com/BtorTJUag1
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) August 31, 2019
For Zhang it was the perfect result in front of a raucous home crowd at the Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre Arena – and one that many felt would now propel her to superstardom while bringing a major boost to the UFC as it continues its pursuit of the riches of the Chinese market.
Can’t overstate this enough: this absolutely massive for the UFC. Zhang is about to become a huge star. They finally found the Chinese champ, and she is no token champ. That’s her 20th win in a row.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) August 31, 2019
First Chinese champ in the UFC!!! Never thought I’d see this so soon. Wow. Congrats Weili Zhang for making history for the Chinese people! #UFCShenzhen
— Dan Tom (@DanTomMMA) August 31, 2019
Holy. Shit!! Just an incredible performance from Weili Zhang. What an amazing moment in history 👏🏻👏🏻#UFCShenzhenhttps://t.co/haOl9JTujS
— Megan Anderson (@MeganA_mma) August 31, 2019
The beaten Andrade, 27, who had won the title by defeating Rose Namajunas in May, said she hoped for an immediate chance to reclaim her title.
“I brought my belt in here to defend it [but] I wasn’t able to perform as I wished... Hopefully I get a chance to fight her again," the Brazilian said.
The loss in China was Andrade's first since losing to Joanna Jedrzejczyk via unanimous decision in 2017.
