UFC star Zhang Weili top athlete on ‘Forbes’ China Celebrity List
- Espanyol and China footballer Wu Lei is the only other sports star on the annual list
- ‘Magnum’ named 27th most influential Chinese celebrity after remarkable year including Andrade and Jedrzejczyk wins
Mixed martial arts star Zhang Weili has been named the top athlete on this year’s Forbes China Celebrity List.
Zhang, who is known as “Magnum”, is 27th on a list that is dominated by some of the biggest actors and musicians in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
The annual list, which ranks celebrities on influence rather than earnings, was first published in 2004. It expanded to include those born outside the mainland in 2010.
This year’s list is topped by the singer Jackson Yee with Jay Chou fourth and Kris Wu in eighth. Last year’s top ranked celebrity, the martial arts film star Wu Jing has dropped to 23rd.
But it is real martial artist Zhang who is the real winner after a remarkable year in the UFC, where she has seen the sport surge in popularity in China on the back of her performances.