Battle of Champion: Valentina Shevchenko vs. Zhang Weili – What’s At Stake
Valentina Shevchenko will put her UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship on the line against Zhang Weili in the co-main event of UFC 322 on November 15, 2025, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The matchup represents a significant moment for both competitors, with Shevchenko seeking to maintain her status atop the 125-pound division while Weili attempts to become the second woman in UFC history to hold championships in two separate weight classes.
Valentina Shevchenko vs. Zhang Weili
Shevchenko holds the two-time UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion title after a dominant career that established her as one of the organization’s greatest fighters. She first captured the flyweight throne in December 2018 by defeating Joanna Jędrzejczyk via unanimous decision at UFC 231. Her initial reign lasted 1,547 days, during which she successfully defended the title seven consecutive times, the most consecutive title defenses in UFC Women’s Flyweight history. She defeated Jessica Eye, Liz Carmouche, Katlyn Chookagian, Jennifer Maia, Lauren Murphy, and others.
This was before ultimately losing the belt to Alexa Grasso in March 2023 via fourth-round submission at UFC 285. It was a high stakes match just as one can play at social casino games.
After a split-decision draw in a rematch against Grasso at Noche UFC in September 2023, where Shevchenko contested the scoring and believed she deserved victory, she secured the trilogy bout in September 2024. Shevchenko won that decisive encounter against Grasso via unanimous decision at UFC 306, reclaiming her championship status and setting up the current opportunity. Most recently, she successfully defended her title with a unanimous decision victory over Manon Fiorot in May 2025 at UFC 315.
China’s Weili brings an accomplished championship résumé of her own to this encounter. The 36-year-old fighter made history in August 2019 by becoming the first UFC champion from China when she defeated Jessica Andrade via first-round TKO in just 42 seconds at UFC Fight Night 157. During her first title reign, Weili defended against Joanna Jędrzejczyk in what became regarded as one of the greatest women’s MMA fights of all time, with Weili securing a split-decision victory in a back-and-forth five-round battle at UFC 248 in March 2020.
Weili’s move to flyweight carries significant implications for the strawweight division. The UFC required her to vacate her strawweight title before the UFC 322 bout, with the 125-pound weight class representing new territory for the Chinese fighter. By relinquishing her belt at strawweight, Weili accepted the organization’s requirement that she remain at flyweight should she win her championship bid against Shevchenko, preventing her from holding titles in multiple divisions.
The matchup unites two pound-for-pound elite fighters. Shevchenko is ranked as the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the women’s division, while Weili ranks number two in that same ranking, making UFC 322’s co-main event one of the most significant championship encounters in women’s MMA. The co-main event will precede the main event featuring UFC Welterweight Champion Jack Della Maddalena defending against former UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev in another championship bout.
