China’s female MMA stars, from Zhang Weili, UFC champ Rose Namajunas’ predecessor, to One Women’s Strawweight World Champion Xiong Jingnan
- Yan Xiaonan started in sanda (Chinese kick-boxing), switched to MMA in 2015, and is now ranked fourth in UFC’s strawweight category
- Zhang lost her first pro fight to Meng Bo while Na Liang hails from Shanghai’s UFC Performance Institute and previously fought in Heroine FC and Bellator MMA
The name Zhang Weili will not be unfamiliar to any fan of mixed martial arts (MMA). Nicknamed “Magnum”, 31-year-old Zhang was the first Chinese and East Asian champion in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) history. After the former strawweight champion lost her first professional match in 2013, she went on to propel her career with an exceptional 21-fight winning streak, gaining her fans worldwide.
Here are four more Chinese female MMA athletes who are making their own mark on the scene, inspiring female athletes in China and beyond.
Yan Xiaonan
Born in 1989 like Zhang Weili, Yan “Fury” Xiaonan was the first Chinese female fighter signed by UFC and is currently ranked fourth in the UFC women’s strawweight rankings. Yan’s background is in sanda, also known as Chinese boxing or kick-boxing, and she only switched over to MMA in 2015. Yan won her UFC debut match in 2017 and has an impressive track record of 13 wins out of 16 matches in her professional fight history.
Xiong Jingnan
Xiong “The Panda” Jingnan, 33, started her UFC fighting career in 2014. With a comprehensive background in boxing, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and martial arts, she is the inaugural and reigning One Women’s Strawweight World Champion – the first-ever MMA world champion from China.