What mattered most at UFC on ESPN+ 15 in Shenzhen, China? Here are a few post-fight musings …
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1. Weili Zhang breaks a barrier
New UFC strawweight champion Weili Zhang (20-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) saved the best performance of her career for the biggest moment. She utterly decimated Jessica Andrade (20-7 MMA, 11-5 UFC) with strikes in just 42 seconds to become China’s first UFC titleholder.
Everything was clicking for Zhang and the end result was a historic moment for the UFC and MMA. The promotion rolled the dice by putting Zhang in a title fight after just three UFC bouts, but it’s clear she was more than ready for it.
The hope from the UFC brass is that Zhang’s title win will lead to an explosion in exposure and popularity in a country populated by more than 1.3 billion people. It remains to be seen exactly how deeply it resonates over time, but it appears to have been a true watershed moment for the sport.
2. But can Zhang keep the strap?
The history of Zhang winning the title and being China’s first UFC champion can never be reversed. However, her impact would stretch even further if she can put together a longstanding reign atop the 115-pound division, which is no easy task.
Zhang is the fifth fighter to hold UFC strawweight gold, which is the most turnover for the belt in any of the organization’s women’s divisions. She managed to take out one of the most dangerous fighters in the weight class in Andrade, but the title defenses aren’t going to be simple to come by moving forward.
It’s unknown at this time who will be the first to challenge Zhang, but undefeated Tatiana Suarez comes to mind as the most likely candidate. Her wrestling could potentially expose something in Zhang, but if the champion gets by that, the likes of Rose Namajunas, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Michelle Waterson and more aren’t far behind.
3. Jessica Andrade’s cup of coffee with the belt is over
Although she is still just 27 and her story appears to be far from written, Andrade’s 112-day title reign won’t be viewed as a particularly memorable one.
Championship fights haven’t been all that kind to Andrade. She was dominated for five rounds by Jedrzejczyk in her first title bout, was getting worked over by Namajunas before a wild slam knockout led to the belt, then finally was swiftly and brutally beaten by Zhang to lose the title.
The strength, power and aggression of Andrade is her greatest attribute but also biggest weakness. She’s going to be a top 115-pound contender for as long as she wants to be there, but if she wants to hold that belt again and actually be able to defend it, some adjustments may be in order.
4. Welterweight continues to be ridiculous
The depth of the UFC welterweight division continues to show itself. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (21-6 MMA, 7-2 UFC) came into his matchup with Li Jingliang (17-5 MMA, 9-3 UFC) on a seven-fight winning streak. Hardcore fans were pleading for him to get a top 10 matchup, but instead he got the unranked Chinese fighter, who pulled off the third-round TKO in a masterful performance.
Jingliang might never be champion, but he’s one of many, many great fighters at 170 pounds. He’s definitely an interesting factor in the division with a 7-1 record in his past eight fights, but there’s really no wrong answer for his next fight. Ideally he should get someone ranked, however, the matchmakers could slap together a matchup between Jingliang and anyone in the top 25 and there’s a probability of it being an enjoyable contest.
Good times.
5. Welcome to the UFC, Mizuki Inoue
Former Invicta FC title challenger Mizuki Inoue (14-5 MMA, 1-0 UFC) made her UFC debut and showed why she’s going to be a good addition to the roster in a split decision victory over Wu Yanan (10-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC)
Not only did Inoue fight up from her typical weight class of strawweight at flyweight, but she did it against an opponent in Yanan who came in three pounds overweight. It wasn’t her finest performance, but once Inoue drops back down to her natural division, she’s going to be part of some fun fights at 115 pounds.
