UFC 268: how Zhang Weili is driving the conversation about Asian women in MMA
- Internal Facebook data reveals China’s UFC strawweight star is leading rise of mixed martial arts on social media across Asia
- ‘About 12 million people are part of over 26,000 Facebook groups dedicated to the discussion of martial arts [in Asia],’ says head of sports partnerships
Zhang Weili entered the UFC making no secret of the fact she wanted to position herself as a role model – and to draw attention to mixed martial arts.
Speaking to the Post in 2018, at the very start of her UFC career, the strawweight star said she wanted to use her appearances inside and outside the cage to change people’s attitudes towards a sport still considered by many to be a little outside the mainstream.
“What I am also trying to do is use my behaviour to encourage more people – and more young women – to devote time or even life itself to this sport,” Zhang said.
It now seems like Zhang’s wishes are coming true.
While Zhang (21-2) is now in the final stages of preparing for her strawweight title rematch with American title-holder Rose Namajunas (11-4) at this weekend’s UFC 268 in New York, the Post decided to reach out to social medial giants Facebook to see whether they had any data to share on her reach today, and on the rise of MMA’s popularity across Asia in general.