"I will become a new me" - Zhang Weili reacts to her KO loss to Rose Namajunas at UFC 261

Zhang Weili has a 'higher goal' now that she has lost her UFC strawweight title to Rose Namajunas at UFC 261.

Disheartened yet gracious in defeat, Zhang Weili posted a spirited message on her social media account following the first knockout loss of her career at the hands of Rose Namajunas. 'Magnum' congratulated her opponent for bouncing back from defeat and picking up the win, and hoped that she could do the same in the near future.

Weili promised to bring a 'new' form of herself when she comes back — one who has a 'higher' goal than simply winning a UFC gold. She also said that her understanding of the sport and the UFC has deepened with the fight on Saturday night.

Weili finished her message by hoping that the UFC and Dana White would book a rematch of the fight soon.

"I want to congratulate Rose on her victory. She bounced back from her defeat. I believe I will also come back, only beat a great champion, to become a legend, and beat a legend, I will become a new me. Before, my goal was to win the UFC championship, but today, I have a higher goal than that. Thank you! It's normal to lose and win. That's the UFC. Andrade, Joanna, Rose have all lost and they all come back and try again. I have deepened my understanding of UFC today. So I believe I can come back. Hopefully the UFC will schedule a rematch soon," Zhang Weili wrote.

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Zhang Weili suffered the first KO of her MMA career

Previously, Zhang Weili had suffered a decision loss in the debut fight of her MMA career. It was at the hands of Meng Bo at the China MMA League in November, 2013.

After holding perfect records in TFC and Kunlin Fight, Zhang Weili had built an undefeated streak of five wins in the UFC. The wins included a TKO title victory against Jessica Andrade and a successful split decision defense against Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

Rose Namajunas handed Zhang Weili the first KO loss of her career when she landed the clinical left kick to the head and dropped her to the ground. 'Thug' rushed in to land a flurry of punches on Weili, preventing her from getting up. The referee intervened a second later, crowning Rose Namajunas the new UFC women's strawweight champion.

MY GOODNESS! 👀Rose Namajunas (+170) knocks out Weili Zhang to win the UFC Strawweight Championship! 🦶#UFC261 pic.twitter.com/XC1Qn8e07U

— FOX Bet (@FOXBet) April 25, 2021

Zhang Weili was visibly unhappy with the stoppage and was seen protesting it once she got back up on her feet, but it was too late.