Tom Brady wasn’t the only star giving Weili Zhang love on social media.
Former UFC bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey also gave Zhang a shoutout before the Chinese fighter’s upset on Saturday at UFC on ESPN+ 15.
Inevitably, reporters on scene in Shenzhen did a little extrapolation and asked UFC president Dana White whether Zhang could be the next Rousey.
The UFC boss was happy to play along, though he rightfully included a disclaimer to his answer.
“The fight that happened tonight, the UFC is a global sport, and Weili’s performance was so good and so big, people were watching this fight in Canada, the U.S., Brazil, (and) the Middle East,” White said after Zhang’s 42-second knockout win. “Weili Zhang became a huge star tonight globally – not just in China.
“She’s still very fresh and young in her career. We’ll see what’s in store for her. But she’s off to a good start.”
In other words, pump the brakes a little bit on giving Zhang the Rousey treatment. There’s still plenty of fighters left in the strawweight division, and if he wants to jump to flyweight, even more there.
As White noted, all of them just got a little more willing to fight Zhang.
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