Throughout his career, Zhang has shown the ability to modify his plan of attack based on his opponent’s strengths and weaknesses. His 11 knockouts and eight submissions bear witness to this. But she doesn’t exactly choose the path of least resistance either. When she snatched the belt from Andrade, she came from a flurry in the pocket to earn the victory by TKO. In both fights against Jędrzejczyk, she stood tall and exchanged with one of the best strikers in the Octagon. And against Esparza, Zhang defeated the decorated wrestler and earned the victory via submission.
It’s all part of Zhang’s, Bruce Lee made famous, mentality of being like water.
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“My mind, my body, it’s like water,” she said. “If you have fire, the water becomes (steam). If the water is cold, it becomes ice. If you put water in a cup, the water is the cup. With different opponents, I am different.
The strawweight champion is also happy to compete in Las Vegas for the first time since her epic fight of the year in 2020 against Jędrzejczyk. She considers Vegas her “lucky place” and a perfect location for another epic performance.