Former UFC strawweight champion and current number one contender to the title Zhang Weili has recently shared a very different kind of challenge from the ones she usually faces inside the Octagon, revealing that her family has been intensifying pressure on her to settle down and get married. The 36-year-old mixed martial arts star from China, who remains one of the most dominant and recognizable figures in the sport, opened up about her personal life and her ongoing struggles with finding a working relationship during a candid interview with mainland influencer Papi Jiang, who is widely known in English as Pepi Sauce. The conversation, which took place in late October, offered fans a rare glimpse into the personal world of an elite athlete who spends a significant portion of her life dedicated to rigorous training camps, global travel, and championship-level competition.
During the interview, Zhang discussed the growing expectations from her family members as she navigates her mid-thirties while managing a demanding professional athletic career. The subject of marriage has apparently become a frequent topic of conversation within her household, particularly over the past year. Since this year, they have been putting more pressure on me to get married, Zhang said during the discussion with Papi Jiang, highlighting how traditional familial expectations often persist even for individuals who achieve extraordinary global success in their professional fields. The transition from focusing entirely on athletic dominance to addressing personal milestones like marriage and dating has proven to be a unique hurdle for the former champion, who is accustomed to controlling every variable in her athletic preparation but finds modern romance to be much less predictable.
In her quest to find a compatible partner, Zhang even turned to contemporary methods of meeting people, though her celebrity status and privacy concerns quickly created roadblocks. Explaining her brief exploration of modern matchmaking platforms, Zhang shared that she has browsed a lot of dating websites in an effort to expand her social circle outside of the gym and the fighting community. However, her attempts to navigate these digital spaces were quickly thwarted by platform security and verification measures. When I want to learn more personal information about the men on these sites, the platforms require me to register under my real name, Zhang explained during the interview. Because maintaining a degree of privacy and managing her public profile is crucial for someone of her global stature, the mandatory requirement to use her real legal name presented a barrier she was unwilling to cross, ultimately forcing her to abandon those digital avenues. So I have to give up, she added, illustrating the practical difficulties high-profile athletes encounter when trying to use standard public applications for dating.
Despite the hurdles and the pressure from her family, Zhang made it clear that she remains open to romance and values the prospect of finding a meaningful connection. Expressing her genuine feelings on the matter, she noted that she still holds out hope for finding a partner who understands her lifestyle and shares her values. I aspire to find love, but I haven’t found it yet, she added, offering a grounded and relatable perspective that resonates with many individuals facing similar life stages, regardless of their professional achievements. Her willingness to speak openly about these vulnerabilities showcases a different side of the elite athlete, reminding supporters that behind the fierce competitor who has stood atop the martial arts world is a person experiencing the universal human search for companionship.
While Zhang continues to navigate her personal life outside of competition, her professional career in mixed martial arts remains paused following her most recent appearance in the cage. Weili has not competed in MMA since her November 2025 unanimous decision loss to now-former flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko. That high-profile bout showcased the incredible skill sets of two legendary fighters, and though the decision did not go Zhang’s way, it further cemented her status among the elite echelon of pound-for-pound talent in combat sports. Following that bout, Zhang does not currently have a fight scheduled as she takes time to evaluate her career path, recover, and address her life outside of training. Throughout her illustrious professional mixed martial arts career, she has built an impressive and enduring legacy, currently holding a stellar 26-4 professional record that includes multiple world championship reigns and victories over some of the most dangerous fighters in the strawweight division’s history. As she weighs her next steps in the UFC, where she sits comfortably as the number one contender to the title, her fans eagerly await news of her eventual return to the Octagon, while also respecting her journey as she balances the demands of elite athletics with her personal aspirations.
