news-engine

Zhang Weili finally got the piece of hardware she missed in Las Vegas, and she got it in front of a Chinese crowd during UFC Shanghai week. The former UFC strawweight champion collected her UFC Hall of Fame trophy Friday at Shanghai Oriental Sports Center, turning a delayed ceremony into a home-country moment with a proper big-fight pop. The trophy comes from the UFC 248 war with Joanna Jedrzejczyk, a five-round title fight that remains central to both fighters’ UFC legacies. Weili and Jedrzejczyk were inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame’s Fight Wing earlier this year, but Weili was not in Las Vegas for the ceremony during International Fight Week. The UFC posted the clip from Friday’s Road to UFC 5 Semifinals in Shanghai and wrote: History knows her name 🏆 Zhang Weili collects her HOF trophy for her legendary fight against Joanna Jedrzejczyk! History knows her name 🏆 Zhang Weili collects her HOF trophy for her legendary fight against Joanna Jedrzejczyk! — UFC (@ufc) August 28, 2026 UFC 248 Still Refuses To Age Like A Normal Fight Weili vs. Jedrzejczyk went down on March 7, 2020, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, with Weili defending the strawweight belt by split decision after five rounds of chaos. The two combined for 351 significant strikes landed, a total that still stands out among modern UFC title fights. It was Weili’s first title defense and became the first women’s fight voted into the UFC Hall of Fame‘s Fight Wing. That night also fixed both women in UFC history for different reasons. Weili proved her championship grit outside China, while Jedrzejczyk reminded everyone why her prime title run shaped the division. It was 25 minutes of elite strawweight exchanges, swelling, counters, momentum swings, and championship-round trading that still defines the matchup six years later. The bout that put Weili and Jedrzejczyk in the Hall is below: Friday’s ceremony also landed at a smart time for the UFC. The promotion is back in China, and the Road to UFC 5 Semifinals have already given the week a local pipeline feel. Putting Weili in front of that crowd with the trophy connected the country’s biggest UFC star to the next wave trying to earn a place in the promotion. Weili’s active fighting future is still its own loaded conversation, especially with new challengers and former champions hovering around 115 and 125 pounds after her UFC 300 title defense. This part is already settled: UFC 248 earned its permanent shelf space, and Weili finally got to hold the hardware in Shanghai as one of the most important fighters the division has ever had.