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Unus Alladin

Chinese fighter Zhang Weili says she will now be able to “put her heart into her training” after clearing the most important hurdle to defend her UFC 248 title defence in Las Vegas next month: She obtained a US visa.
Making the announcing on her Weibo account on Thursday, the strawweight champion said she could put her mind at ease after more than a fortnight worrying whether she would make the trip to the US on the back of concerns over the novel coronavirus outbreak that has plagued her country.
China’s only UFC women’s champion said she would finally be able to defend her UFC strawweight title and that she can “start losing weight” ahead of her highly-anticipated bout against Joanna Jedrzejczyk in the gambling mecca on March 7.

“I got the visa and now I got the go ahead to fight. To be honest, it was not easy [obtaining the visa]. The fight wasn’t going to happen unless I got a visa. Now I got it and I have fire in my belly and I can start losing weight. See you in the United States. Add oil [come on],” the 30-year-old fighter wrote on Weibo.
UFC’s Chinese champ Zhang Weili moves training camp again amid coronavirus fears
Zhang is currently in Abu Dhabi after abandoning her training in the Chinese capital earlier this month because of the coronavirus outbreak, now called COVID-19. She leaves for the US on February 25.

As the US announced travel restrictions on any Chinese traveller departing from China and fearing that her schedule would be disrupted, “Magnum” headed to Thailand only to stop training there after a few days following the spread of the deadly virus in the Land of Smiles.


She then moved her training camp to Abu Dhabi while the UFC worked on expediting her visa. She finally received her visa after 11 days of waiting for approval.

Earlier this month, UFC president Dana White said Zhang had only left Thailand as a precautionary measure and that there was “no danger” to the UFC 248 co-main event.
UFC: Zhang Weili blasts Joanna Jedrzejczyk for ‘making fun’ of China coronavirus – ‘people are dying’
“There’s literally no danger whatsoever,” White said of the potential for the fight being cancelled. “She’s training down in Thailand and obviously there’s some things going on. We want to make sure she’s safe.
“The second most infected place right now is Thailand. We’re moving her to Abu Dhabi to make sure everybody’s safe.”


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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

UFC 248: Zhang Weili obtains US visa for title defence – ‘now I can put my heart into this’

Chinese UFC fighter Zhang Weili can now travel to the United States. Photo: Weibo

Zhang Weili at the UFC Shenzhen open workouts.

Zhang Weili Weibo tweet

Zhang Weili celebrates with the Chinese flag, after beating Jessica Andrade in Shenzhen.

UFC’s Chinese champ Zhang Weili moves training camp again amid coronavirus fears

Zhang Weili celebrates with the Chinese flag after beating Jessica Andrade in Shenzhen. Photo: Brandon Magnus/Zuffa LLC

UFC: ‘Nobody knew the name of Weili a few months ago’ – Valentina Shevchenko believes Zhang Weili has yet to prove herself

Zhang Weili at a press conference for UFC Fight Night 141 in Beijing in 2018. Photo: The Fight Nation

Valentina Shevchenko celebrates after defeating Jessica Eye during their women's flyweight title mixed martial arts bout at UFC 238, Saturday, June 8, 2019, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski)

Mar 2, 2019; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Tecia Torres (red gloves) and Weili Zhang (blue gloves) during UFC 235 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

UFC: Zhang Weili thanks veteran Diego Sanchez for lamenting ‘ignorant jokes’ and ‘stupid posts’ about the deadly coronavirus

The UFC’s first Asian champion Zhang Weili poses after a training session in Beijing. Photo: AFP

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UFC strawweight champion Weili Zhang punches Danielle Taylor at UFC 227 in 2018. Photo: AFP

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Chinese champion relieved she has finally been given clearance to travel to the US
Zhang had waited 11 days in Abu Dhabi before she got the green light, saying ‘I have fire in my belly!’



Chinese champ Zhang Weili relieved to finally be cleared to travel to the US for Joanna Jedrzejczyk fight at UFC 248 – ‘now I can put my heart into this’.


Coronavirus pandemic: All stories

UFC 248: Zhang Weili obtains US visa for title defence – ‘now I can put my heart into this’

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Chinese champion relieved she has finally been given clearance to travel to the US Zhang had waited 11 days in Abu Dhabi before she got the green light, saying ‘I have fire in my belly!’

Chinese champion relieved she has finally been given clearance to travel to the US

Zhang had waited 11 days in Abu Dhabi before she got the green light, saying ‘I have fire in my belly!’