UFC champ Zhang Weili battles gender bias in online discussion
- ‘I often tell people not to think all female MMA fighters as manly and violent,’ strawweight belt holder tells fans
- The 31-year-old is rumoured to return to the octagon against ‘Thug’ Rose Namajaunas in early 2020
UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili has spoken of the gender bias she faces as a female MMA athlete in heartfelt discussion online.
“I often tell people not to think all female MMA fighters as manly and violent,” the 31-year-old said on Thursday, speaking as part of a series of live talks for Open English.
“We know how to fight. But it is biased to think we will be violent at home because we get paid for fighting and it’s not cheap.
Zhang said that traditional gender roles no longer need to be the norm, describing gender bias as a headache.
“The gender bias has been a headache. Boys can sell lipsticks and girls can box and wrestle. Those are normal jobs.”
The UFC strawweight champion retained her title against former champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 248 in Las Vegas in March.