SHENZHEN, Aug. 31-- Zhang Weili knocked out Brazilian Jessica Andrade after just 42 seconds of the first round to claim the UFC World Strawweight Championship, here in Shenzhen at the Shenzhen Universiade arena. Zhang entered the fight as the underdog to the Brazilian, however, after a flurry of devastating knees, elbows and punches the Chinese fighter walked away with the TKO and as China's first-ever UFC World Champion. Both fighters came out at the start swinging hard, and after 15 seconds Zhang was caught with a stiff left and looked shaky on her feet for a moment, yet she fought back almost immediately with a swift right. Following the comeback right, Zhang got Andrade in the clinch and landed several clinical elbows side of the head, rocking Andrade. Zhang transitioned in the clinch to nail Andrade with four destructive knees to the face. After the knees, Andrade crashed to the fall and was caught with a single, finishing blow to the temple before the referee stepped in to save Andrade from further damage, thus handing the TKO victory to Zhang. Elsewhere in the co-main event the huge underdog and unranked Li Jingliang from Xinjiang, China managed to grab a last-minute knockout in the final round over the 13th ranked welterweight Elizeu Dos Santos to secure a shock victory. The fighters, both aggressive strikers, had been expected to a slugfest, however, fans were treated to an engrossing fight with both athletes wary of each other's striking power. |