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Ronda Rousey Congratulates Weili Zhang for Landmark Title Victory at UFC Shenzhen



Ronda Rousey knows a little something about being a pioneer in mixed martial arts.

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The Olympic judoka was part of the first female bout in the Octagon when she submitted Liz Carmouche in the opening round at UFC 157 on Feb. 23, 2013. The promotion’s inaugural women’s bantamweight champion would go on to become one of the sport’s biggest crossover stars during her tenure before leaving MMA following a loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 207 in December 2016.

In the present day, Weili Zhang is something of a pioneer herself, as she become the first Chinese champion in the history of the Las Vegas-based organization with a 42-second stoppage of Jessica Andrade in the UFC Fight Night 157 headliner in Shenzhen, China, on Saturday.

Rousey took a moment to praise the new strawweight queen on Saturday in an Instagram post.

“The future is bright – amazing performance,” Rousey wrote. “Congrats champ.”

Zhang who has now won 20 consecutive professional bouts – including four in the UFC – checked in with the eighth fastest finish in a UFC title fight with her victory over Andrade. Rousey herself holds two of the top four quickest victories in championship bouts. It’s only fitting, then, that Zhang came up admiring the armbar specialist.

“Thank you. My idol is you encourage me. Inspired me,” Zhang wrote in the comments of Rousey’s post. “That’s what made me win today. I want to thank you.”

Zhang’s knockout victory will likely go down as a landmark event in UFC history, particularly because the promotion has been gradually looking to gain a foothold in China. Having a champion should make growth in the world’s most populous country considerably easier. At Saturday’s post-fight presser, some were comparing Zhang’s win to Holly Holm’s shocking KO of Rousey at UFC 193 in November 2015.

That was something of a bittersweet memory for Zhang.

“That fight broke my heart because I was a true fan of Ronda Rousey, but it was okay because every fighter has her or his own era,” Zhang said. “Ronda Rousey had her era, and then she passed the belt to another fighter, just like me. This time I won the belt from Jessica Andrade, and she passed the belt to me.”

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