Women’s strawweight champion Jessica Andrade (20-6, 7 KOs, 7 SUBs) will meet China’s Weili Zhang (19-1, 9 KOs, 7 SUBs) at UFC on ESPN+ 15 on Saturday, August 31, 2019 at the Unversiade Sports Arena in Shenzhen, China. The card airs live at 10pm ET.
Jessica Andrade’s title reign kicks off this Saturday - and she’s traveling around the world to get started. The Brazilian will make her first title defense in hostile territory when she travel to Shenzhen, China to meet Weili Zhang.
When it comes to Zhang, even longtime MMA fans might be like...who is that and why is she getting a title shot? At first glance, it appears that the UFC might be trying too hard to push into the China market by shoving an unknown fighter into a title challenge for the purposes of elevating a local card.
But don’t overlook Zhang - she is the best fighter to come out of the country. Her 19-1 resume speaks for itself, and her 3-0 UFC record includes wins over Jessica Aguilar and Tecia Torres. In the 115-pound division, beating Torres is a big deal - she’s an elite gatekeeper. Plus, Zhang’s 16 career finishes stand out in a weight class that produces the most decision finishes.
Andrade is coming off a title victory over Rose Namajunas, but it was a matchup where she was losing badly until she won. “Bate Estaca” was getting carved up on the feet, but was able to get her hands on Rose and body slam her into oblivion to produce one of the highlights of the year. The win served as a reminder of Andrade’s next-level strength and power - and that anything can happen in MMA.
Let’s take a look at the UFC odds at BookMaker.eu and break down the matchup along. Live UFC betting at the online sportsbook is available to make wagers during the fight as well.
UFC Odds at BookMaker.eu
Jessica Andrade -175
Weili Zhang +139
Fight goes/doesn’t go to decision: -105 / -135
Significant Striking Stats
Landed per minute: Andrade 6.58 / Zhang 5.49
Accuracy: Andrade 51% / Zhang 46%
Absorbed per minute: Andrade 5.04 / Zhang 2.17
Defense: Andrade 51% / Zhang 62%
Grappling Stats
Takedown average: Andrade 3.2 / Zhang 1.78
Takedown accuracy: Andrade 58% / Zhang 30%
Takedown defense: Andrade 75% / Zhang 100%
Submission average: Andrade 0.48 / Zhang 0.89
Bet this UFC fight at BookMaker.eu
Prior to her 2018 UFC debut, Zhang found a lot of success in Asian promotions as a powerful, chaos-inducing fighter - she racked up an 18-fight win streak with her wild offensive style. However, she’s shown a much more patient and intelligent game since coming into the octagon.
Her debut against Danielle Taylor showed that she could still be effective in utilizing her strength, but it was her followup against Jessica Aguilar that proved that Zhang belonged in the contender ranks. Against the former WSOF champ, Zhang put on a power striking clinic, bloodying up Aguilar before finding an armbar finish. The matchup with Torres was a lot tougher, but Zhang’s power held up against one of the stronger fighters in the division.
But when it comes to raw strength, Andrade is easily the top fighter in the weight class. Like a prime Wanderlei Silva, “Bate Estaca” marches straight forward hoping to back opponents into the cage, in which she starts unleashing vicious hooks. And like she proved against Namajunas and Claudia Gadelha, Andrade has no issues lifting fighters high into the air and piledriving them on their heads.
UFC Odds Pick: Andrade to win at -175
This has all the makings of a classic fight, with two aggressive power punchers trading blows until the other goes down. However, this is a much better style matchup for Andrade - Namajunas was simply too long and fast for the Brazilian. Zhang fights in a similar style as the champ, but doesn’t have the same uncanny strength. This is an excellent price on the champ.
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