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Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff Writer
Chinese strawweight champion Zhang Weili turned in a near-flawless performance at UFC 292 — and that’s considering the impossibly high standards she’s come to be judged by.
Zhang (24-3) dominated first-time title challenger Amanda Lemos (13-3-1) in every aspect on Saturday, en route to a clean unanimous decision. Judges scored the 115-pound title fight, which co-headlined UFC 292 inside Boston’s TD Garden, 50-43, 50-44 and 49-45. It marked Zhang’s fourth strawweight title fight win, moving her to within two of the all-time leader, Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
“My name is Zhang Weili, I am from China, do you remember me?” Zhang said. “I am training every day. Hard training, easy fight.”
The fight certainly looked easy for Zhang for much of it as she landed an astounding 296 total strikes to just 29 by Lemos. The main reason for the discrepancy was Zhang’s grappling, as she took Lemos down in all five rounds and delivered a complete beatdown on the ground. Lemos, of Brazil, showcased a ton of heart in continuing to try and work back to her feet, but she was visibly outclassed in the wrestling department.
Lemos did land a handful of stinging right hands that served as a reminder of her well-known power, but Zhang ate the shots well and continued to apply pressure. Lemos also locked up a rare d’Arce choke from the bottom position, but it never appeared close to forcing Zhang to tap.
In the fifth round, Zhang showcased some punching power, dropping Lemos with a brutal right hand that nearly put an exclamation point on the performance. Lemos ultimately survived the shot, but Zhang still moved into a modified crucifix position, where she scored more ground-and-pound before Lemos somehow worked back to her feet.
“I’m not surprised,” said Zhang, who trains under Beijing Black Tiger and Las Vegas coach John Wood. “I have a great team. All of the coaches give me all the technique to make the fight happen like this.”
Zhang was already ESPN’s No. 1-ranked pound-for-pound female fighter in the world going into Saturday. She is now 8-2 in the UFC all time, with her only two losses coming against former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas. A third fight between the two is always in play, although Namajunas’ next fight is scheduled in a higher weight class next month.
Lemos, who is tied for the most finishes in strawweight history with five, falls to 7-3 overall in the UFC.