Dana White sees dollar signs (and yuan) in Zhang Weili, the UFC’s first Chinese champion
- Chinese fighter was the top search on Baidu and Weibo following 42-second destruction of Jessica Andrade in Shenzhen
- UFC president says sponsorship deals for the new strawweight champion are pouring in from agents in the US
Dana White was yawning and stretching at the UFC Fight Night 157 post-event press conference in Shenzhen, but don’t think it was because he was bored.
The UFC president, speaking to the media at the Universiade Sports Centre around 11pm local time, was clearly jet lagged after flying into the city from Las Vegas the day before.
He loved what he saw in the main event, as Zhang Weili destroyed Jessica Andrade in just 42 seconds to become the UFC’s first Chinese champion.
“Agents were calling me from LA making offers for her on deals already when I got back to my hotel room after the fights. That’s what an impact she’s had already,” White said on Saturday night, barely two hours after Zhang tore the roof off the arena.
Fighter management and marketing company SuckerPunch claimed on Sunday that footage of Zhang’s strawweight title victory had already been viewed 300 million times on Chinese social media and state media platforms.