the rum soaked fist: internal martial arts forum

Shawn Bitter on May 14, 2018 wrote:UFC 227 will take place in Los Angeles, California August 4, 2018 in the Staples Center. As the card is filling out, the UFC made a huge move in signing one of the best WMMA prospects in Weili Zhang. Zhang will take on Danielle Taylor (9-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC).

Weili Zhang
5’4″
Strawweight
28-years-old
Hebei, China
Trains out of Black Tiger Fight Club
16-1
9 KO/TKOs
6 Submissions (3 rear-naked chokes, 2 Armbars, 1 Guillotine)

How will Weili Zhang fare in the UFC:
Zhang is one of the best signings from the UFC in some time as she has major potential. Zhang’s impressive record of 16-1 jumps out, but considering her only loss was her first pro bout, her 16-fight win-streak is even more impressive. She is very solid on the feet she with good kickboxing attacking everywhere. Zhang is always moving forward landing a lot of elbows and when she is in the clinch. She is also excellent at tripping her opponent to the mat. She is very dominant on the mat, moving well on top constantly getting into mount and landing brutal ground-and-pound. She throws heavy punches but it’s the elbows that do most of the damage. She’s proven she can win by TKO or submission hence why she has 15 of her 16 wins via finish. Zhang is a future top 15 strawweight no doubt.

How does Weili Zhang match-up against Danielle Taylor:
Taylor has been far from”Dynamite” in her UFC career as both her UFC wins could have easily gone to her opponents. Being 5’0″ really hinder Taylor where it’s so hard for her to get on the inside of her opponents. Being the shorter fighter, Taylor isn’t the aggressor and as she does hold a lot of power she very rarely shows it. Zhang should be favored to win but a finish may not materialize due to Taylor’s speed and toughness. Pick – Weili Zhang. Confidence: 85%