Zhang Weili received her UFC Hall of Fame trophy in front of a home-country crowd during UFC Shanghai Fight Week.
The presentation took place Friday at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center during the Road to UFC Season 5 semifinals. Zhang walked to cageside as the UFC recognized her celebrated 2020 championship fight against Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
Zhang and Jedrzejczyk were inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame’s Fight Wing earlier this year as members of the 2026 class. Zhang was unable to attend the official induction ceremony during International Fight Week in Las Vegas, delaying her opportunity to collect the trophy.
The Shanghai presentation allowed the UFC’s first Chinese champion to receive the honor before an enthusiastic crowd in her home country one day before UFC Fight Night Shanghai.
Zhang defended the UFC strawweight championship against Jedrzejczyk in the co-main event of UFC 248 on March 7, 2020, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. You can see the fight below.
The five-round battle produced constant momentum swings and an extraordinary volume of offense. Jedrzejczyk landed 186 significant strikes, while Zhang connected with 165. Their combined total of 351 remains the highest recorded in a women’s UFC fight and ranks among the largest totals in UFC title-fight history.
Only one of the five rounds was scored unanimously by the three judges, illustrating how closely contested the fight remained. Zhang ultimately retained her championship by split decision, with two 48-47 scorecards in her favor and a third judge awarding Jedrzejczyk the same score.
The victory represented Zhang’s first successful UFC title defense. The fight subsequently earned numerous Fight of the Year honors and became widely regarded as one of the greatest contests in women’s MMA history. Its induction also made Zhang-Jedrzejczyk the first women’s fight to enter the UFC Hall of Fame’s Fight Wing.
Receiving the trophy in Shanghai brought the recognition full circle for Zhang. Six years after defending her championship in Las Vegas, she was able to celebrate the fight’s permanent place in UFC history before a Chinese audience.
