“Today I made it, I want to thank my coaches, my brothers and sisters, everyone who supported me. I’m so proud to be Chinese. I want to thank my country. My name is Zhang Weili, remember me.”

Andrade was humble in defeat. “I’d just like to thank China for welcoming me with open arms,” she said. “Props to Weili, hopefully I get a chance to fight her again, maybe here in China if you guys don’t mind having me.

“This is my style, I’m aggressive, if I would fight her again you never know, but now I’ve just got to go back to the drawing board and come back stronger.”

Zhang added that winning the title was a dream come true. “I felt so excited. I think the keys to my win were my calm mindset and the strategy defined by my coaches. All the strategies were practical, predicted each important point, and helped me seize every opportunity,” Zhang said.

“Also, I did a great job in adjusting my mindset. When I fought overseas, my team was not there with me because of visa issues. But I performed well last year in Beijing, and I won the belt this year in Shenzhen, since all my coaches are here with me, supporting me.

“I don’t have a name for next opponent right now, I will take whoever UFC gives to me. But personally, I will take a long sleep tonight and rest.”

In the co-main event, Li “The Leech” Jingliang (17-5) got back in the win column after stopping Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (21-6) with 15 seconds to go, earning himself a top 10 ranking in the welterweight division.

Li dropped Dos Santos in the first round, then looked to be easing his way to a decision win before putting the Brazilian on the canvas twice more in the closing stages before the referee stepped in.

“I’ve been preparing hard for this fight, I’ll keep fighting,” Li said in his post-fight interview. “And now I want to say, China power!”

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New Zealand’s Kai Kara-France (20-7) beat Mark De La Rosa (11-3) by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, and 29-28), extending his winning run to eight fights.

China’s Song Kenan (15-4) beat Derrick Krantz (22-12) via unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the fight 29-28. “I feel like in the beginning he was way stronger than me, I was trying to use the kick and the punch but I felt more confident later on,” Song said. “Of the four fights I’ve had in the UFC this was the hardest and most exhausting.”

In the first fight of the main card, Japan’s Mizuki Inoue beat China’s Wu Yanan by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28). Wu had missed weight for the flyweight bout by 3 pounds.

“It was a very close fight so I wasn’t very confident I had won but I gave it all I’ve got,” Inoue said after winning on her debut.

On the preliminary card, Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez (8-1) submitted Park Jun-yong (9-5) with a D’Arce choke at the end of the second round.

China’s Su Mudaerji (10-3) put in a flawless performance as he dominated “The Asian Sensation” Andre Soukhamthath (13-8) for a unanimous decision, to the delight of the home crowd.

The 23-year-old won with scores of 30-26, 30-26 and 30-25. “I’ve been preparing for this fight for so long since the last time in Beijing, with so much effort,” Su told Michael Bisping in the Octagon.

“My weakness has been on the ground. Next time I will go abroad and train my ground skills and get better. Whoever I fight next time I’ll be ready.”

In an entertaining bout, Jung Da-un (11-2) submitted a gassed Khadis Ibrgaimov (8-1) by standing guillotine in the third round after weathering the Russian’s striking storm in the first round. The Korean picked up his 11th straight win on his first fight in the UFC.

“The Mongolian Knight” Heili Alateng (13-7-1) beat Danaa Batgerel (6-2) by unanimous decision in his UFC debut, with all three judges scoring the fight 29-27.

Damir Ismagulov defeated Thiago Moises via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27).

In the first fight of the night, Karol Rosa (12-3) beat her Brazilian compatriot Lara Procopio (6-1) by split decision.