The first title defense of Zhang Weili's second reign as UFC women's strawweight champion wasn't just dominant on Saturday, it was historically one-sided.
Save for a submission scare to close the opening round, Zhang (24-3) was relentless in outclassing Brazilian slugger Amanda Lemos (13-3-1) in a wide unanimous decision win in the co-main event at UFC 292 at TD Garden in Boston. Zhang, the first Chinese-born champion in UFC history, took home judges' scores of 50-43, 50-44 and 49-45.
Zhang, 34, landed six takedowns to zero for the 36-year-old Lemos and enjoyed ground control time of nearly 15 full minutes. But it was the striking disparity that set a new mark as Zhang outlanded Lemos 288 to 21 in terms of total strikes, which was the largest differential in UFC women's history.
"I'm so happy. I have been training every day, so hard," Zhang said. "Hard training and easy fights. I am not surprised because I have a great team."
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Zhang won her third straight fight since a pair of title losses to Rose Namajunas in 2021 ended her initial reign. And it took Lemos' sturdy chin to avoid the stoppage, particularly in the first three rounds, where Zhang held an advantage of 157 to 9 in terms of total strikes entering the championship rounds.
WHAT AN OPENING ROUND 😮💨 #UFC292 pic.twitter.com/VzwFMslk9W
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 20, 2023
The dominance for Zhang began in the opening round as an early leg-trip takedown led to methodical ground and pound. But just as Lemos appeared close to be stopped, she surprised Zhang with a D'Arce choke that was briefly locked in tight during the final minute.
Lemos landed a series of hard right hands to open Round 2 until Zhang ducked a follow-up punch and landed a clean takedown. Lemos enjoyed her best sequence in Round 4 when she landed the bigger shots as Zhang appeared to be resting for the final round after three rounds of grappling caused her to fatigue.
Luckily for Zhang, her championship mettle showed in Round 5 as she dropped Lemos with a right cross and spent the rest of the mauling her opponent to cement a dominant final frame.
With the loss, Lemos snapped a two-fight win streak dating back to a first-round submission loss to former champion Jessica Andrade in April 2022. Zhang, meanwhile, might have cemented her claim as female pound-for-pound best with the dominant win aided by Amanda Nunes' retirement and a recent loss to Valentina Shevchenko.
