Zhang Weili has been a dominant force at strawweight since reclaiming her title in late 2022. Still, the two-time 115-pound champion was the betting underdog to her latest challenger, Tatiana Suarez, in their co-main event bout at UFC 312.
Zhang proved how wrong oddsmakers were with a lopsided unanimous decision victory over Suarez, and her performance made a strong impression on UFC CEO Dana White. Speaking in his UFC 312 post-fight scrum, White said he couldn’t have been more impressed with his Chinese champion in and out of the Octagon.
“Lots of people were texting me saying, ‘Weili loses tonight. It’s over,'” White said. “She was an underdog, and I bet the casinos got murdered tonight because I bet a lot of people threw money on Tatiana. But when you look at Weili, she’s one of the greatest of all time, the best female fighter in the sport right now.
“At the press conference, Tatiana was talking about what she was going to do and what about her wrestling, and Weili said, ‘This isn’t a wrestling match. This is a fight,'” White continued. “She actually out-wrestled Tatiana tonight — an absolute stud and and such a huge, huge star in China for us. She trended No. 1 like four times during fight week. One hundred million views just on UFC platforms in China, and tonight she was trending No. 1 in all the big territories for us. So, huge star.”
Zhang, 35, indicated during fight week that the original UFC 312 plan in discussion was for her to challenge UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko. However, according to Zhang, a Shevchenko injury nixed that idea and handed Suarez her big opportunity.
White said he’s open to the idea of matching the 115-pound champion Zhang up against the 125-pound champion Shevchenko, especially now that Zhang has five total defenses under her belt.
“They’re waiting for me,” White said of Zhang and her team. “I love them both (Zhang and Shevchenko). Maybe we’ll just have to find out. It’s a possibility.”
Since 2022, Zhang has fought only once each year. But 2025 is starting early for her, with a successful title defense less than eight weeks into the year.
Outside of the first round, Suarez provided the champion with little resistance. The star wrestler managed one takedown early on against the champ, but was thoroughly shut down thereafter, ending the fight 1-for-15 on takedown attempts after five one-sided rounds.
Whether or not “Magnum” goes for a second UFC title in her next fight, White sees no reason Zhang won’t get whatever she and her team request next.
“She looked absolutely dominant tonight; she looked great,” White said. “As far as I know, she’s healthy and came out of that fight with zero injuries. So yes, we’ll see what she wants.
“She’s at a point in her career now, and everything that she’s accomplished, that whatever she has to ask me in the hallway back here, I’m probably going to say yes.”
Shevchenko is also a two-time UFC champion after her latest victory — a unanimous decision against Alexa Grasso — returned her to the flyweight throne. The official UFC pound-for-pound rankings have her at No. 1, followed by Zhang, making the concept of a clash between them all the more exciting.
Zhang, however, said she isn’t concerned with the pound-for-pound talks. When asked where she ranks herself, she responded that she prefers to keep her focus on herself, with the hope to keep improving. If that includes a Shevchenko matchup, it will be all systems go.
“Let’s talk with Dana later,” Zhang said. “I think everything is about timing, so if there is a good time for both of us to make this fight happen, it happens.”
