After winning the UFC strawweight title on home soil, Jessica Andrade’s first defense will occur in enemy territory when she heads to China to meet the country’s first title hopeful in Weili Zhang.
Andrade (20-6 MMA, 11-4 UFC), who won the 115-pound title from Rose Namajunas via memorable slam knockout last month at UFC 237, meets Zhang (19-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) in the main event of UFC on ESPN+ 15 on Aug. 31. The event takes place at Universiade Sports Centre in Shenzhen and is expected to stream on ESPN+.
The Brazilian champion got a little taste of where she’ll be defending her belt this week, though. Andrade headed to Shanghai to kick off promotional events for the card in conjunction with the opening of the latest UFC Performance Institute, and there she encountered Zhang for the first time.
It was all respect between champion and challenger as they smiled and embraced throughout the proceedings.
You can watch in the video above.
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