Reigning UFC Women's Strawweight champion Zhang Weili returned to China on Monday, after being stranded in the U.S. for over a month due to the global COVID-19 outbreak. 

The 29-year-old was crowned China's first ever UFC champion in August 2019, and defeated Joanna Jedrzejczyk in Las Vegas last month to retain her strawweight belt. 

"We are about to get on board. See you my friends in China, hope all is well," she wrote on her Weibo account on Monday morning in Los Angeles. 

She also shared two photos of her and her team in protective gowns, masks and facial shields. 

The news has received overwhelming response from her fans, who are welcoming her and wishing the champion safe and sound. 

Upon arrival in Tianjin, a city near the capital of Beijing, Zhang will undergo a mandatory two-week quarantine. 

Earlier, she expressed how desperate she is to come back to her homeland.  

"We really looked into all the plans but chose to stay here and not risk piling more pressure and danger, not only to us, but also to all the people who were already fully stretched by COVID-19," Zhang wrote in her diary. 

Zhang and her team rented a house in Las Vegas and kept training there. 

"We hardly went out. Thanks to my lovely Chinese neighbor. Though we had never met before, she sent us some rice and masks because we couldn't find them anywhere," said Zhang. 

Fans also sent her training equipment to help her keep in top form. 

(With input from Xinhua)