UFC strawweight sensation Tatiana "The Female Eagle" Suarez believes Zhang should drop her recent tendencies to increase her chances of winning the title in the long term. Zhang Weili's style of play has become more and more ground-oriented, and her striking has degraded slightly, and this change in style of play has made her more stable than before, but the female eagle believes that Zhang Weili is "on the wrong path".
UFC 300 Zhang Weili and Yan Xiaonan Chinese Derby, for most of the time, Zhang Weili used her ground game to control Yan Xiaonan. Although she also had a lot of times standing, she was at a disadvantage and was knocked down at least three times - fortunately, Yan Xiaonan was jealous of Zhang Weili's ground sleeping skills, and did not dare to rush forward to make up for the knife.
At present, Yan Xiaonan, the women's strawweight world ranking (except for champion), has lost the world No. 1 position, and Suarez, the female eaglet, has risen to the top of the rankings. Suarez is one of the most accomplished wrestlers in the UFC strawweight division, and she could well be the next person to challenge for the Zhang Weili World Title. If Zhang chooses to wrestle with Suarez in her next bout, Suarez doesn't think that path will allow her to keep her belt.
"She's been doing it, she wants to wrestle with everybody, and she says she likes to fight the best," Suarez said. "So I thought she might try to wrestle with me, and I just thought it was a bad idea. I've been wrestling since I was three years old, and Zhang Weili's wrestling has only strengthened in recent years, so I think that's a good thing for me!"
Suarez is 10-0 in her professional mixed martial arts career, and even after a four-year hiatus from 2019 to 2023, she's still a top strawweight. Despite a long absence, her return has made a great impression. Zhang Weili was known for her razor-sharp punches and kicks in the early stages of her career, and as she became a superstar, her skills became more versatile.
In recent matches, Zhang Weili seems to rely more on wrestling, and her striking is not as tough as before, and her fly in the ointment is obvious, that is, her lack of arm span and lack of tight defense when she stands up, including a headshot by Rose Rose. Zhang Weili has achieved great success in fighting the world with wrestling, but when facing the female eaglet, the master of wrestling, it is indeed a headache.