Valentina Shevchenko will defend her flyweight title in a much-anticipated showdown with Zhang Weili in November, as the pair clash in the co-main event of UFC 322.
Shevchenko will aim to extend her second reign atop the 125lb division when she faces Zhang, who currently holds the strawweight belt but will relinquish it before UFC 322, which takes place on 15 November.
In fact, the Chinese star’s title will officially become vacant when the co-main event of UFC 321 begins on 25 October; in that bout, Virna Jandiroba and Mackenzie Dern will fight to crown Zhang’s successor.
Then, a few weeks later, Zhang will face Shevchenko at Madison Square Garden in New York City, where Islam Makhachev challenges welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena in the main event.
Zhang, 36, will enter UFC 322 on a six-fight win streak, having last fought in February, when she retained the strawweight belt with a decision victory over Tatiana Suarez.
Zhang first held the strawweight title from 2019 until 2020, dethroning Jessica Andrade before retaining the gold in an all-time great fight with former champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk. She then lost the belt in 2021 with a shock knockout by another ex-champion, Rose Namajunas, who narrowly outpointed Zhang in their rematch that year.
Since then, however, “Magnum” has gone unbeaten, stopping Jedrzejczyk in their rematch with an iconic spinning back fist, submitting Carla Esparza to regain the title in 2022, then outpointing Amanda Lemos, Yan Xiaonan and Suarez.
Shevchenko is also a UFC great, holding five wins over former champions – Jedrzejczyk, Andrade, Holly Holm, Julianna Pena and Alexa Grasso.
The Kyrgyz, 37, first held the flyweight title from 2018 until 2023, when she suffered a surprising submission loss to Grasso. The pair drew in their rematch, before Shevchenko regained the gold with a decision win in their trilogy fight in 2024.
“Bullet” then retained the title with a decision win over Manon Fiorot in her most-recent fight, in May.
Also announced for UFC 322 was a welterweight bout between Carlos Prates and British former champion Leon Edwards.
