Martial ArtsMixed Martial Arts
UFC 292: Zhang Weili ‘might be the greatest of all time’, Joe Rogan says, as Dana White plots China return
UFC president ‘very happy to hear’ Zhang’s win over Amanda Lemos racked up 1.9 billion views on Chinese social media in a matter of hoursWhite admits he will ‘probably’ take strawweight champion back to China next, but she plays down talk of fighting compatriot Yan XiaonanUltimate Fighting Championship (UFC)Nicolas AtkinPublished: 4:07pm, 20 Aug, 2023Why you can trust SCMP
Joe Rogan said Zhang Weili showed she “might be the greatest of all time” in women’s MMA after a dominant victory over Amanda Lemos, with UFC president Dana White admitting she will “probably” fight in China again next.
The Chinese star retained her strawweight title in the co-main event of UFC 292 via a lopsided unanimous decision, with scores of 50-43, 50-44, and 49-45, from the three cageside judges at TD Garden in Boston.
She also put up the largest ever strike differential – 288 to Lemos’ 21 – in a women’s fight in the UFC, coming close to finishing the Brazilian challenger in the first and fifth rounds.
It was a statement when that underlined her status as the new face of women’s MMA following former two-weight champ Amanda Nunes’ retirement – but commentator Rogan feels Zhang may have already surpassed the Brazilian.