NEW YORK – She may be the challenger Saturday, but former women’s strawweight champion Zhang Weili is brimming with confidence. Weili (22-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) meets Carla Esparza (19-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) for Esparza’s title in the UFC 281 co-main event at Madison Square Garden in New York. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and early prelims on ESPN+. Weili won the 115-pound belt in August 2019 with a 42-second knockout of Jessica Andrade. She defended it with a split call over Joanna Jedrzejczyk just before the world shut down for the pandemic. But in April 2021, she was knocked out by Rose Namajunas and surrendered the title, and about six months later, she lost to Namajunas by split decision in a rematch
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Big favorite Zhang Weili says she has no fear of Carla Esparza in UFC 281 title fight – MMA Junkie