Zhang Weili has cemented herself as one of the greatest champions in UFC history, so it’s only fitting that a fellow legend could be next.
The strawweight queen delivered an emphatic title defense in the co-main event of UFC 312 as she out-struck, out-grappled, and outworked Tatiana Suarez en route to a unanimous decision win. This is the third straight successful title defense for Zhang in her second run with the belt and her fourth defense overall. She is also the first woman to defeat Suarez, who was 10-0 heading into Saturday.
In the lead-up to the bout, Zhang mentioned the possibility of fighting flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko next and she was asked about that matchup at the evening’s post-fight press conference.
“Let’s talk with Dana later, but I think everything is about timing,” Zhang said of fighting Shevchenko. “So if there is a good time for both of us to make this fight happen, it happens.”
Zhang was also straight-up asked if she felt she was the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world or if Shevchenko still deserved that honor. Shevchenko recently reclaimed the flyweight belt with a lopsided decision win over Alexa Grasso in their trilogy-concluding fight at UFC 306.
Unfortunately for anyone hoping for a spicy response, Zhang kept a level head.
“To be honest, I don’t really care who is pound-for-pound No. 1 or No. 2.,” Zhang said. “It doesn’t really matter. What I care about is how can I just make myself better.”
Zhang has just about cleaned out the 115-pound division, having defeated everyone she’s shared the octagon with not named Rose Namajunas (and Namajunas isn’t a factor at the moment as she currently competes at 125 pounds. She has a worthy challenger in Brazilian veteran Virna Jandiroba, but Jandiroba has to get past Yan Xiaonan at UFC 314 this April before signing on for a title fight.
In truth, it doesn’t sound as though Zhang cares who she fights next.
“I think the biggest opponent to me is myself, so [even] if I stay in strawweight, if I fight different styles of opponent, I can still learn a lot from that,” Zhang said. “Eventually, to improve myself, that’s my ultimate goal.
“I see all my opponents as my teachers. I will learn from them and just make myself better and better.”
UFC CEO Dana White was also asked about the potential Zhang vs. Shevchenko fight. In regards to who is pound-for-pound No. 1, White said, “Maybe we’ll just have to find out,” and later said the matchup is “a possibility” when asked if that’s what the UFC plans to do next.
Watch White’s post-event media scrum below.
Alexander K. Lee
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