Zhang Weili named Female Fighter of the Year

China's Zhang Weili, a strawweight champion and second in the pound-for-pound rankings, has been awarded Female Fighter of the Year at the World Mixed-martial Arts (MMA) awards Friday, according to a South China Morning Post report.

Zhang Weili proudly displays her championship belt after defeating Brazilian contender Amanda Lemos at UFC 292 on Aug. 19, 2023 in Boston, the U.S. Photos from Xinhua

Zhang was the first female Asian athlete to win a title in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). In April, she defended her strawweight title by defeating fellow Chinese fighter Yan Xiaonan at UFC 300. This marks Zhang's second time receiving the award, having previously won in 2022.

Considered one of the best women’s MMA fighters in history, Zhang is China’s first and only champion in U.S.-based UFC.

In her acceptance video, Zhang expressed gratitude to her fans and opponents, saying, “This year was great, and next year will be even better.”

Actor Will Yun Lee presented the award, praising Zhang and other nominees for their skill, heart, and determination.

Zhang Weili 

Zhang first captured the strawweight title in 2020 in Shenzhen with a TKO victory over Jessica Andrade. After regaining the title from Joanna Jedrzejczyk in November 2022, she was named Fight of the Year.

Zhang, who was born in Handan, northern China’s Hebei Province, started training in martial arts at a young age, beginning at 6 with Shaolin Kung Fu under the tutelage of a local master, after she was inspired by Kung Fu films.

In primary school, she practiced many sports, including athletics, football and table tennis. When she was 12, her parents sent her to a specialized martial arts school in Handan where she began training in Sanda, which is the official Chinese boxing full-contact combat sport, and a Chinese style of wrestling called Shuaijiao.

After winning Sanda championships of the Hebei Province multiple times, she was selected for the Jiangsu provincial Sanda team, however a recurring back injury sustained in training forced her to quit the sport early. 

At the age of 17, Zhang moved to Beijing, where she worked various odd jobs: cashier at a supermarket, kindergarten teacher, security guard and hotel desk clerk.

In 2010, she found a job at a Beijing gym as a fitness instructor, and was allowed to use their equipment for free after the gym closed in the evenings. During that time, she would also pick up Brazilian jiu-jitsu, after watching others grappling there. She later switched to a front desk job, through which she got to know fighters who trained at the gym, one of them being her idol Wu Haotian, a pioneer of Chinese MMA. After they became acquainted in 2012, Wu brought her to Black Tiger Fight Club. There, she was noticed by coach Cai Xuejun, who recognized her potential and started training her in MMA.