...but it shows why I adore Zhang. She's a bannerwoman for Kung Fu.

UFC 248: Chinese champ Zhang Weili has conquered the world, but home is where the heart is
Hailing from Handan, a city famous for fighters and steeped in martial arts history, Zhang has been spoiling for a fight from an early age
But she admits it’s been hard not to get swept up in the hype of being China’s first UFC champion, as she prepares for first title defence in Las Vegas
Mathew Scott
Published: 2:24pm, 7 Mar, 2020


UFC women’s strawweight champion Zhang Weili, of China, arrives for the UFC 248 ceremonial weigh-in at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Photo: AP

The bright lights of Las Vegas have beckoned Zhang “Magnum” Weili ever since the Chinese fighter created history last August by becoming her country’s first UFC world champion.
A place, front and centre, on the biggest stage there is in combat sports is due reward for anyone who reaches the pinnacle of MMA and come Saturday (Sunday, Asia time) at the T-Mobile Arena, the world will turn to Zhang (20-1) as she defends her title against a former champ in Poland’s Joanna Jedrzejczyk (16-3).
Since her stunning 42-second TKO of Brazil’s Jessica Andrade to take the UFC’s strawweight belt in Shenzhen, Zhang has been in constant demand, touring the globe greeting the public and the media. But, she says, whenever the adulation – and the rising tide of fame and fortune – have become too much, she has one place where her thoughts return for comfort, and a due dose of reality.
Home.



“I come from Handan and the city is famous for fighters,” Zhang says. “People know what the life of a fighter can be like so I have support always from my parents and my friends.”
Handan is situated in China’s northern province of Hebei and is home to around 9.5 million people, although Zhang still refers to the place as a “small town” which says much of the size of things in a nation of some 1.4 billion.
The city is steeped in martial arts history, with the native crafts of t'ai chi and wushu, kung fu and sanda (Chinese kick-boxing) practised daily by a fair swathe of its population and the tales of its own legends, down through the ages, shared in the schools and out on the playgrounds.
“Everybody in Handan worships martial arts,” Zhang says. “Everybody wants to be strong. Old people, young people, everybody is doing some kind of tai chi or wrestling. So the development for fighters is amazing. This has gone on for thousands of years and Handan is famous for fighters.”
The Zhang origin story has her spoiling for a fight from an early age, projecting her fellow female classmates from the bully boys before turning her attentions to the more disciplined regimes of sanda and shuai jiao (Chinese wrestling).


Zhang Weili faces off with Joanna Jedrzejczyk at the UFC 248 ceremonial weigh-ins.

Despite Handan’s history, Zhang’s family weren’t keen on their daughter becoming a fighter by trade, pushing her towards more “respectable” pursuits such as teaching, despite the fact her mother had put the young Zhang through a “toughening up” regime during her formative years. That included making Zhang jump up out of holes dug into the ground – exercises from which she developed the core strength that these days powers her game.
But Zhang kept training on the sly before making the leap into MMA – with what remains her only loss, a decision loss after two rounds to compatriot Meng Bo (14-5) back in 2013. Since then it’s been 20-0, and a 4-0 run in the UFC that took her to the title.
China knew what was coming, but the world has been a little slower to catch on. Still, as Zhang’s reputation grew across the Chinese MMA community, back home in Handan she found she could still escape to relative anonymity.


Zhang Weili on stage at the UFC 248 ceremonial weigh-ins. Photo: Amy Kaplan

“I thought that everybody knows me, since way back when I became regional champion,” Zhang says. “But I don’t hang out a lot. There are many fighters in Handan and a lot of my parents’ friends didn’t even know that I was their daughter. This helps make life real for me and keeps my feet on the ground.
“A few years ago my parents had a worker in to fix our water heating and he was telling them they should check out this Zhang Weili as he heard that she came from near their home and she was a very good fighter. He asked them ‘Do you know her?’ And they laughed and told him. So I can never get too big for Handan.”
Zhang readily admits that it has at times been hard not to get swept up in the hype that surrounds any world champ, not least when you are your nation’s first in the UFC.


Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk, of Poland, poses on the scale during the ceremonial weigh-in for UFC 248. Photo: AP

In the lead-up to Saturday’s first title defence, the pressure, the sense of expectation, has been building, made seemingly more claustrophobic by events that are out of Zhang’s control.
With the normal secure regime of fight camp destroyed by the rise of the coronavirus in China, Zhang shifted camp twice – to Thailand and then Abu Dhabi – as she was made to sweat on news of whether she’d even be allowed to enter the US.
This week in Vegas, with now only the fight ahead to worry about, Zhang admits she at times lost sight of the bigger picture of what has been going on around the world this year. But then, as always, her thoughts turned to home.
“When I was in Abu Dhabi I became super upset and I called my mum,” Zhang says. “She said remember in China we are combating the coronavirus. Think about those doctors and nurses and patients. Think of them in combat on the front lines fighting this disease. You are just in an unfamiliar place. Your job is much easier, don’t complain. Then I realised I am not alone. Everybody has their fights. So I think this victory is for us all. Now nothing can shake me.”
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: home is where the heart is for UFC star Zhang