Be wise, and don’t count out Weili Zhang
Las Vegas-March 8th, 2020 On the eve of international women’s day, the mixed martial arts world witnessed two combatants produce magic in the form of the greatest female fight the world has ever seen.
It was an all-out shootout between the most decorated strawweight fighter in history, Joanna Jedzejczyk and the pride of China, the fierce Weili Zhang.
Could it have been a coincidence for them to transcend female MMA on the eve of international women’s day? Maybe. Or maybe it just so happened to be a night where an all-time great was born. And although Zhang fell short against the surging Rose Namajunas in the sunshine state, be wise, and don’t count out the former champion just yet.
Unquestionably, becoming a UFC champion is one of the most challenging things to achieve, but it’s far from impossible. However, for an individual to change the perspective of an idea for an entire nation, 1.4 Billion people, to be more specific, is the closest thing to impossible.
Weili Zhang did that with a formula that consisted of respect, hard work, a pure heart, and a beautiful, contagious smile that captured hearts throughout the world.
Prior to Zhang’s swift rise to strawweight supremacy, she stumbled on her first step in the professional ranks, losing her mixed martial arts debut. It’s almost impossible to understand what fighters go through. A daily trip of an emotional rollercoaster, to say the least, filled with self-doubt, constant stress while someone is trying to take your head off every single day, literally.
So for someone striving for gold and glory, losing your debut can be a fatal shot to your confidence. However, the pride of China showed that she was indeed born for greatness, and there was no stopping her. And just like that, Zhang went on an 8 year, 21 fight win streak.
On the undercard of UFC 227, Weili made her promotional US debut in the city of angles. And while you only get one shot to make a first impression, China’s powerhouse needed not more than fifteen minutes to attach her name with the word dominance in the fight game’s brackets.
Following her three dominant outings, Zhang secured herself a championship setting in her homeland with ten thousand screaming fans giving her a heroic welcome that is desired by every combat athlete. With as many style points as she could have got, 42 seconds was all it took for the pride of China to dismantle the feared knockout artist, Jessica Andrade, thirteen months into her UFC run. Incredible.
Just when you thought that no more style points were achievable, China’s Weili Zhang’s first title defence unfolded to turn out into the greatest female fight of all time, if not the greatest fight of all time, regardless of gender.
Weili’s second title defence took place in the sunshine state. It was a night that certainly didn’t lack any jaw-dropping moments. The pride of China came out looking sharper than ever, flowing, fainting, and most importantly, landing. However, a surprising kick landed by Rose Namajunas from almost a clinch range snapped Zhang’s legendary 21 fight win streak
.History shows, this sport is the purest, but unfortunately, the most ruthless. What goes up must come down at some point. That’s just how the game works. While you can be as prepared as ever, a split second, just like a blow of wind, can scatter an entire deck of cards in the form of lifetime work. It’s just inevitable. However, the trick is in what happens after. How you react to the situation is everything.
Losses and lessons are inevitable trials that every individual must encounter, but most importantly, they should be viewed as a trade-off for growth. No one reached their desired destination in life without having to endure the suffering and agony of defeat. And although dark times might cloud your purpose and vision, just make it through, weather the storm, and the world is yours. So, be wise, and don’t count out Weili Zhang. She’s only warming up.
Written by: Tarek Alsabbagh, Lightkeeper Promotions
Chinese Version:
拉斯維加斯-2020年3月8日，在國際婦女節前夕，混合武術世界目睹了兩名戰鬥員以世界上前所未有的最偉大的女性搏斗形式產生了魔術。
這是歷史上裝飾最華麗的輕型戰鬥機喬安娜·捷澤奇克（Joanna Jedzejczyk）與中國的驕傲狂張偉力（Weili Zhang）之間的全面槍戰。
對於他們來說，在國際婦女節前夕超越女性MMA只是一個巧合嗎？也許。也許恰好是一個歷史悠久的夜晚誕生的夜晚。儘管張在陽光狀態下對陣洶湧的羅斯·納馬努納斯（Rose Namajunas）還是差強人意，但要明智一點，不要算上這位前冠軍。
毫無疑問，成為UFC冠軍是要實現的最具挑戰性的事情之一，但這絕非不可能。但是，要使一個人改變整個國家的觀念，更具體地說，有14億人是最不可能的事情。
張偉力做到這一點的方式包括尊重，勤奮，一顆純潔的心和美麗，具有感染力的微笑，吸引了全世界的心。
在章飛躍成為輕量級至上主義者之前，她跌跌撞撞地踏上了專業隊伍的第一步，輸掉了混合武術的處子秀。幾乎不可能了解戰鬥人員經歷了什麼。至少可以說，情緒激動的過山車的日常旅行充滿了自我懷疑和持續的壓力，而實際上卻是某人每天都試圖把你的頭移開。
因此，對於那些追求金牌和榮耀的人來說，失去首次亮相可能是對您的信心的致命打擊。但是，中國的驕傲表明她的確是為偉大而生，並沒有阻止她的到來。就這樣，Zhang進行了8年21連勝。
在UFC 227的底牌上，Weili在美國天使之城進行了她的促銷性的美國處女秀。儘管您只有一槍能給人留下第一印象，但中國的強國需要不到15分鐘的時間，即可在搏擊比賽的方括號中將她的名字加上“優勢”一詞。
在經歷了三場重要的比賽之後，Zhang在自己的家鄉獲得了冠軍，一萬名尖叫的球迷為她提供了英勇的歡迎，這是每位格鬥運動員都渴望的。在她擁有盡可能多的風格點的情況下，中國自豪感花了42秒鐘才將這位令人恐懼的淘汰賽藝術家傑西卡·安德拉德（Jessica Andrade）拆除，進行了13個月的UFC比賽。極好的。
就在您認為無法再獲得更多風格優勢時，中國的張偉力的第一場冠軍爭奪戰就展現了有史以來最偉大的女性爭奪戰，即使不是有史以來最偉大的爭奪戰，無論性別如何。
衛力的第二次冠軍爭奪戰發生在陽光狀態。那天晚上肯定不缺少任何令人jaw目結舌的時刻。中國的驕傲比以往任何時候都更加犀利，動盪，昏倒，最重要的是著陸。然而，羅斯·納馬祖納斯（Rose Namajunas）從近乎險些的射程中突降而來，突如其來的一腳勾住了張的傳奇性21連勝。
歷史證明，這項運動是最純淨的，但不幸的是，最殘酷的。上升的事物必須在某個時候下降。這就是遊戲的運作方式。儘管您可以像以往一樣做好準備，但是一瞬間，就像一陣風一樣，它會以終生工作的形式散佈整個卡片組。這是不可避免的。但是，竅門在於之後發生的事情。您如何對這種情況做出反應就是一切。
損失和教訓是每個人都必須經歷的不可避免的考驗，但最重要的是，應將它們視為增長的權衡。沒有人可以忍受失敗的痛苦和痛苦，就可以到達他們理想的生活目的地。儘管黑暗時期可能會使您的目標和願景蒙上陰影，但只要克服困難，渡過難關，世界就是您的。所以，要明智，不要指望張偉利。她只是在熱身。
作家：塔雷克·阿爾薩巴格（Tarek Alsabbagh）
