Zhang Weili retained her UFC Strawweight World title with a dominant wrestling-heavy performance over Brazil's Amanda Lemos at UFC 292 at the TD Garden Arena in Boston, Massachusetts on Saturday.
Zhang, the women's pound-for-pound number one fighter in the world, arrived on the East coast of America as the favorite against the dangerous Brazilian striker who entered her first title shot off the back of four straight finishes.
UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili celebrates defending her title at UFC 292 in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., August 19, 2023. /CFP
In the opening round, Zhang immediately took the initiative. After landing a strong low kick counter to put Lemos down, Zhang showed her strength and wrestling prowess to land from the top position. Despite a scary D'arce choke attempt from Lemos, Zhang cruised to an easy 10-9 round.
The second started with both women exchanging strikes before Zhang went back to her wrestling game plan, securing the takedown with ease. Despite Zhang's ground and pound output lowering, it was still pure domination from the Chinese champion.
Even though it was only the third round, the strike differential of Zhang's 60 to Lemos' 5 told the story of the fight. Zhang started this round with elbows from the clinch before securing yet another takedown. After another three minutes of domination of the ground again, the round ended on the feet with Zhang easing to the bell, extending her differential along the way to 80-9 compared to the Brazilian.
Wrestling took a back seat in the fourth, as the fight remained standing for the majority of the round. Lemos, who had been touted as a dangerous striker before the fight, finally began to land some dangerous offense, catching Zhang once with the same dangerous left hook that finished her previous opponent Marina Rodriguez. The round finished with both fighters fatigued but Zhang finished strong.
The fifth once again started with a kickboxing exchange, before Zhang landed a picture-perfect straight right hand to put Lemos down. In a flash Zhang swarmed the Brazilian with desperate ground and pound, searching for the finish. Lemos showed heart and strength surviving the brutal onslaught both head on and with evasive jiu-jitsu, but it was not enough to turn the one-way traffic.
It was a champion's performance from Zhang, who set a new strike record and set a new margin for the largest strike differential in history with 217 strikes to Lemos' 24 - which is to say the Brazilian landed less than once punch per minute. The judges' scorecards reflected the domination, with Zhang winning 50-43, 50-44 and 49-45 to take a clear unanimous decision.
Zhang will potentially face Yan Xiaonan in an all-Chinese affair for the Strawweight title in December in Shanghai, China.
(With input from Xinhua)